Jurassic Park: The Chaos Continues
by BuckJohnson
Summary: The survivors are being held in Costa Rica for the time being and with the death of InGen's CEO John Hammond, the company is vulnerable. Their rivals Biosyn plans on taking advantage of the situation, but InGen won't let them have the island without a fight and Dr. Henry Wu intends to recover the research he left behind. It's time to return to Isla Nublar...
1. First Iteration

**As promised, I put together the first chapter of the exciting sequel to The Isla Nublar Incident. Similar to the last story, this is an edited version of an interactive storytelling game/roleplay that I did with my friend. We had such a blast with The Isla Nublar Incident that we couldn't stop there and we immediately started developing its follow-up focused on the aftermath. We could have just written our version of The Lost World, but we thought it would be interested to explore the immediate fallout of Jurassic Park and set up things that would eventually lead into The Lost World. The story here is based off the unofficial sequels to the first movie, such as the comics and the video games (the title itself is taken from one of the video games). A warning though: This story will get dark. REALLY DARK. These stories were just done for fun and they're not perfect, but I do want to share this creative experience with you and that includes the stuff where I think we may have gone too far. I later had to add an in-universe explanation for why things were so much more chaotic and violent this time. This story begins with a baby getting eaten by compys, a scene right out of the novel, which I guess kinda sets the tone for what you're in store for. I honestly felt sorry for these characters because of everything you'll see them go through. But with that out of the way, same as last time I'm splitting this into seven parts or iterations. I hope you enjoy this continuation...**

* * *

**First Iteration**

"_At the earliest drawings of the fractal curve, few clues to the underlying mathematical structure will be seen."_

-IAN MALCOLM

The tropical rain fell in great drenching sheets, hammering the corrugated roof of the clinic in Bahia Anasco. It was nearly midnight; power had been lost in the storm, and the midwife Elena Morales was working by flashlight when she heard a squeaking, chirping sound. Thinking that it was a rat, she quickly put a compress on the forehead of the mother and went into the next room to check on the newborn baby. As her hand touched the doorknob, she heard the chirping again, and she relaxed. Evidently it was just a bird, flying in the window to get out of the rain. Costa Ricans said that when a bird came to visit a newborn child, it brought good luck.

Elena opened the door. The infant lay in a wicker bassinet, swaddled in a light blanket, only its face exposed. Around the rim of the bassinet, three dark-green lizards crouched like they saw Elena, they cocked their heads and stared curiously at her, but did not flee. In the light of her flashlight Elena saw the blood dripping from their snouts. Softly chirping, one lizard bent down and, with a quick shake of her head, tore a ragged chunk of flesh from the baby. Elena rushed forward, screaming, and the lizards fled into the darkness. But long before she reached the bassinet, she could see what had happened to the infant's face, and she knew the child must be dead. The lizards scattered into the rainy night, chirping and squealing, leaving behind only bloody three-toed tracks, like birds.

* * *

The African savannah appeared in shades of fluorescent green, seen through night-vision goggles. An animal yelp came from the left and the green vista swept abruptly toward it. The world blurred momentarily, then came into focus on a field of long grass.

The grass rippled in a complex pattern as animals moved stealthily through it. One animal head popped up above the grass for a split-second, teeth bared, a white stripe between its eyes. Sarah Harding pulled the goggles away from her face.

"Hyenas. Ace Face is the striped snout."

Sarah is thirty, with a compact, athletic body built for the outdoors. She looked through the goggles again, sweeping ahead of the hyenas to their prey.

It's a herd of African buffalo, standing belly-deep in the grass, agitated, bellowing and stamping their feet.

Sarah turned to Makena, her African assistant.

"They'll try to take down a calf. Come on."

Sarah scurried up and over a rock face. Makena followed. Closer now, they watch as the hyenas rush the herd, running through it, trying to break it up.

"F1 headed south, F2 and F5 flanking, twenty yards," Sarah said into her pocket recorder. "F3 center. F6 circling wide east. Can't see F7."

While she talked, breathless, fascinated by the drama before her, Sarah continued to creep closer and closer to the action. Makena followed, with growing unease.

"F8 circling north. F1 straight through, disrupting. Herd moving, stamping. There's F7. Straight through. F8 angling through from the north."

Makena had a hold of Sarah's sweatshirt and tugged her back, at least trying to slow down her progress as Sarah, wide-eyed with fascination, creeped even closer.

Suddenly there was a tremendous bellowing and the grass right in front of them ripped apart, trampled under the feet of the hyenas as they clustered around a fallen buffalo calf. They yelped and jumped, their muzzles bloody.

The adults moved aside, making room as the hyena pups came forward, squealing to get at the kill. Sarah's eyes shined with excitement and she moved even closer, whispering into the tape recorder.

"Brooding behavior in evidence at the kill site, pups are ushered forward and adults help them eat, pulling flesh away from the carcass and-"

A telephone rang.

Sarah stopped in mid-sentence, unsure if she heard what she thought she heard. It rang again, the unmistakable chirping of a cellular phone. Sarah and Makena both moved at once, pawing at a backpack.

"I thought you turned it off!" Sarah frantically whispered.

Two hyenas looked inquisitively in the direction of the phone. Sarah came up with it and jabbed at a button in irritation.

"Yes?!"

Someone spoke on the other end. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Dad. This better be important."

Sarah didn't say anything for a long moment, just listened as the voice on the other end talked. And talked.

* * *

Sarah had gotten on the first available flight to Costa Rica.

Arriving at the hospital, she told one of the nurses who she was looking for. The nurse only spoke some English words, but eventually Sarah was able to make her understand.

Sarah followed the nurse down a corridor. The nurse stopped and opened and door. Sarah went in. Her father Gerry Harding was asleep on the bed. Cautiously, Sarah approached his bedside, tears springing into her eyes.

She sat down and carefully took his hand. His eyes opened, and fixed on her. He smiled. Sarah knew she was smiling back.

* * *

Alan Grant woke up in a cold sweat, panting hard. He looked at his surroundings, momentarily confused. He was in a small, white, dark room. Through the window, he could see it was night. He was back in civilization.

He sighed and sank back into his pillow, telling himself he was safe. No more dinosaurs. Yet the ones in his dream had seemed so real…

* * *

"Sarah!" Jess said happily, hugging her older sister.

"It's great to see you," Sarah smiled, hugging back. "I came here as fast as I could. Are you okay?"

Jess nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine… others weren't so lucky." Her smile vanished for a moment, but then quickly returned. "Come on, there's somebody I want you to meet."

Grabbing Sarah's hand, Jess began leading her through the hospital.

* * *

Ian Malcolm was speaking with somebody on the phone.

"Karen, it's Ian. Can you put Kelly on the phone?"

After a moment of silence, he heard a familiar voice that he missed so much. "Dad?"

Malcolm smiled. "Hey, sweetie. I'm sorry, but it looks like I might be in Costa Rica longer than I thought."

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, there was an accident. Luckily, they have great doctors here and I'll try making it home as soon as possible."

"What about gymnastics tryouts?"

"I know I gave you my word that I'd be there and I want to, but-"

"It's okay. You never keep your word anyway."

Malcolm froze, hurt. "I'll make it up to you when I get home. You're going to have to stay with Karen a bit longer, but you're going to have lots of fun. Karen is fantastic. She'll take you horseback riding and to the movies. It'll be a fantastic time."

"Stop saying fantastic. Can't I fly over and visit you?"

Malcolm thought of the governments and companies keeping him here. "Uh, no. That's a bad idea. Now is not a good time. Besides, you have school. I don't want you missing out because of me." Somebody knocked on the door. "Don't worry, things will get better. I have to go now, but I'll call you later. I love you."

"I love you too, Dad. Bye."

The call ended and Malcolm turned to the door. "Come in."

To his surprise, Jess came in with an older, attractive woman.

"Hi, Dr. Malcolm!" Jess greeted cheerfully.

Malcolm smiled. "Jess! What a delightful change from the doctors insisting that I take my pain medication! And who's that?" He pointed to Sarah.

"Dr. Malcolm, this is my sister. Sarah Harding. Sarah, this is Dr. Ian Malcolm."

Malcolm offered his hand and Sarah shook it. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Harding. Jess told me a lot about you."

* * *

Harding sat up in his hospital bed. He had a visitor that he had personally requested. A Costa Rican girl his daughter's age.

"You must be Atlanta, right?"

The girl nodded. "How do you know my name? Is it about my mother?"

"Yes. I didn't know her for very long, but she told me about you…"

"Where is she?"

Harding frowned. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about…"

* * *

In a bar not far from the hospital, Lewis Dodgson, still recovering from his own injuries, was hunched over a table, talking shrewdly with the local man sat across from him.

"Do you understand everything I've said, Diego?" Dodgson asked.

The Costa Rican gave him a nod.

"Good." Dodgson reached into his pocket. Looking left and right to make sure no one was watching, he pulled a gun out of his pocket and gave it to Diego under the table. Diego took it and quickly concealed it in his own pocket.

"Remember: the Asian guy. Don't screw up. I'll make you rich for life if you pull this off," Dodgson promised.

Diego grunted and stood up from the table. Tipping the brim of his hat over his eyes, he stalked out of the bar.

Dodgson grasped his side, wincing. The pain was still pretty bad. But he couldn't afford to go to the hospital. He didn't want anyone thinking he was involved in what he'd just hired Diego to do…

* * *

"_A pity. I know this island had potential. A few careless mistakes brought it to its knees. At the end of the day though, it wasn't a bad idea. Just could have been executed better."_

"_You sound like this isn't over."_

"_Oh, Dr. Grant. I imagine it isn't."_

"What's on your mind?" Ellie asked Grant, watching Tim and Lex splash in the swimming pool.

"Huh?"

"You're frowning. Come on, what's wrong?"

"Oh, I just have this feeling," Grant told her.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think this is over. We already got more than we bargained for, but our troubles didn't end when we left the island. Why do you think they're keeping us here?"

"Well, they can't keep us here forever, right?" Ellie pointed out. "Remember that young man from the American Embassy. He explained that Washington was doing everything it could to hasten our departure. But the plain fact is that many people had died in a territorial possession of Costa Rica and that an ecological disaster had been narrowly averted. The government of Costa Rica feels like it had been misled and deceived by John Hammond and his plans for the island. And the fate of the island itself still has to be decided."

Grant nodded. "We already told them everything we know. Do you think they believe that we're keeping something from them?"

Ellie shrugged. "Hopefully we'll be able to go home before winter sets in."

Grant stood up from his chair.

"Where are you going?" Ellie asked.

"To find Wu," Grant answered. "I need to talk to him."

* * *

Diego stamped up to a nurse. He introduced himself and said he wanted to visit his friend.

The nurse asked him what his friend's name was.

"Henry Wu," he replied.

She led him down the hallway to Henry Wu's room. Diego put his hand in his pocket, grasped the metal hilt of the revolver.

The nurse stopped at a door and knocked. "Who is it?" came a gruff voice from inside.

"A friend to see you," the nurse replied in broken English.

The door opened and Diego froze in surprise. This wasn't the right man. This man was American. He had short black hair and a long-brimmed hat. Diego turned to the nurse, to explain that this was the wrong room, when he caught sight of another man in the back of the room, sitting on the bed. There he was. There was Henry Wu.

"Who are you?" Henry asked, clearly confused.

Diego panicked. He muttered that he'd made a mistake and hurried off. Ducking his head, he hurried out of the hospital.

That hadn't gone well at all. Diego crossed the street. He'd have to explain to Dodgson what had happened. Dodgson was impatient, shrewd; he wasn't going to like what Diego would tell him. But what else could he have done? He couldn't possibly have killed Henry Wu with that other man in the room.

He shook his head. Hopefully, another chance would come soon. To finish the job.

* * *

**InGen Headquarters, San Diego**

Peter Ludlow sat at his desk, looking through some papers. The board was in chaos and he knew it was only a matter before the lawsuits started heading InGen's way. Since Hammond, his uncle and the CEO, was MIA, a power grab to fill the vacuum was inevitable. This in-fighting would leave the company vulnerable to InGen's enemies and ultimately bankruptcy. Not if Ludlow had anything to say about it. He had to act fast, but he if he played his cards right this disaster might not be a total loss.

Somebody knocked on the door.

"Please, come in."

A man stepped in and sat down in front of Ludlow's desk. He was an elite InGen commando, a dangerous individual who did the dirty work for the Hammond family. His name was Edgar Prather.

"Thank you for meeting with me, Edgar," Ludlow nodded. "But let's get right down to business. We both know what went down on Isla Nublar. Luckily, the survivors were evacuated. Unfortunately, a lot was left behind. Sensitive data, company secrets, valuable technology. It would be a shame to lose it and even a bigger shame if it fell into the hands of our competitors."

"I get it. We send in a recovery team."

"Exactly. We need to do this as soon as possible while the opportunity is available. We don't know what the Costa Rican government will decide to do with the island, so the time for decisive action is now. I already put together a team of mercenaries and veterans." He handed the papers to Edgar. "I need you to lead them."

"What about the survivors in Costa Rica?"

"I'll give Wu a call. He would be an important asset to the operation. I know he would hate to lose the research that he couldn't take with him."

"Should I expect any trouble?"

"We still don't know who Nedry was working for. We have theories, but no proof. But whoever they are, it's unlikely that they've given up and they might try to interfere. If you encounter opposition, do what you do best."

"And the rest of the board?"

"Too scared to do anything, which is why the company's fate is in our hands. I trust you to complete the mission, Edgar."

"And your trust will be rewarded."

Edgar left and Ludlow went back to work, planning the future of what would soon be his company.

* * *

"Who was that?" Grant asked Wu as he closed the door.

"No idea," Wu said, puzzled. "Didn't recognize him at all. 'My friend?' Unlikely."

"Wonder what he was doing here," Grant murmured.

"I can guess." Henry Wu rubbed his chin. "For years, we - and by that I mean InGen - have had a bitter rivalry with another genetics company called Biosyn. You recognize the name Lewis Dodgson?"

Grant shook his head.

"He has something of a bad rep among us geneticists," Wu said. "Mostly due to his menial and sometimes inhumane experiments. There was one time-"

"Yeah, so what's the point?" Grant asked impatiently.

"The point is, InGen is vulnerable. This is Biosyn's chance to jump in and take the spot as the leading genetic company in America. It's even possible that Dodgson might intend to take advantage of recent circumstances. I wouldn't be surprised if right now he's concocting some scheme to get ahold of my research."

"And if he does?"

Wu frowned. "We - and by that I mean mostly Hammond - may have made some poor choices. But we weren't stupid. We knew that the cosmic power we possessed had the potential for great destruction. Lewis Dodgson doesn't have that same moral compass. Lewis Dodgson is a dangerous man. I fear what he might do with that power, should he obtain it. It's a fear Hammond harbored for a long time, as well."

"Then what will you do?"

"What can I do?"

Grant suddenly looked upset. "You're not going to do anything?"

"What are you proposing? What is it you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Take responsibility. Stop Dodgson from obtaining your research."

"And how could I possibly-"

At that moment, the phone rang. Wu picked it up.

"Yes?"

Wu's eyes widened.

"Edgar? Why, yes… No, you can come. No, not at all."

He hung up and stared into space for a moment.

"Who was that?" Grant asked.

Wu looked up. "Edgar Prather. InGen op. Worked for Hammond. And he's on his way here."

* * *

"S-she's dead?" Atlanta asked in disbelief.

Harding nodded. "I'm so sorry, Atlanta."

Tears ran down Atlanta's face. "It's all my fault…"

"Don't blame yourself, Atlanta. Of course it's not yo-"

"Yes it is! She's dead because of me! She cared more about supporting me than her own damn life and it got her killed! I'm the reason she was on the island! She would still be alive if she didn't feel obligated to give me a better life!"

"Atlanta, I promise to help you. You don't have to be alone."

"I'm sorry. I'm sure you're a nice guy. But I'm not worth it. Worry about yourself."

"I can't do that, Atlanta. I won't turn my back on you. I understand that you're hurting. If you need space, that's okay. But know that I'm here for you."

Atlanta nodded, wiping away her tears. She smiled weakly. "Thank you." She then left and Harding sighed.

"I'm not going to give up on you, Atlanta…"

To his surprise, Wu and Grant entered his room.

"Gerry, something just came up," Wu told him.

Wu told him everything he'd just told Grant.

"I think you're right," Harding said when he was finished. "I think Dodgson will try something. What, though… I'm not sure."

"I think it's obvious," Wu said. "If you ask me, he's going to try to get on that island and get my life's work. Then he'll probably repackage it and sell it as his own. That's what he's best at." He muttered the last part with obvious disgust.

"So he has a history with this sort of thing?" Grant asked.

Wu nodded. "He's stolen countless scientists' work over the years."

"I think we have bigger problems here than stolen research," Harding said. "If Dodgson gets his hands on your data, he could create his own dinosaurs."

"And that would just be scratching the surface," Wu said.

"So, we have to stop him. What should we do?"

Wu grimaced. "You're not going to like it."

Harding frowned at him. "What?"

"I just got a call from Edgar Prather. You remember him? I think you might have met once. Anyway, he's an InGen commando. He's bringing a team and they're going to try to get my research before Dodgson does. I'll probably go with them. They'll need my expertise."

"Your expertise." Grant muttered, rolling his eyes. "Right."

Wu ignored him. "Harding. I want you to come with me."

Harding sat upright in bed. "You're out of your mind. I just got out of that place!"

"I know. But this is important. Just imagine what horrors Dodgson will unleash if he gets his hands on my work!"

"But why do you need me?" Harding demanded.

"You have the most experience with the dinosaurs. You know their behaviors."

"So do you. You made them, for crying out loud."

"Yes, but you've been up close and personal with them. No amount of study can beat that."

"I don't care what you say." Harding was shouting now. "I'm never going back to that island. Not in a million years."

Wu turned sorrowfully to Grant. "I don't suppose you'd be willing…?"

Grant didn't even answer him. He simply left the room.

Wu tried a different angle. "You're under legal obligation to the company-"

"Henry," Harding said, his voice low and ominous. "No. Now get out of here. You go to that island if you want. I'm staying right here."

"Fine," Wu told Harding. "Perhaps I'll convince your daughter Sarah then, since she's already in the country. I'm sure that she'll love the opportunity and given her expertise in the behavior of predators she would prove very useful."

Harding glared at Wu. "Keep Sarah out of this."

"Your choice, Gerry. Do your job and help the company or relax in a Costa Rican hospital while your daughter stands in for you."

Harding sighed. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this, but fine… I'll go. On the condition that you leave Sarah alone."

"It's a deal."

The two shook on it.

* * *

Grant was telling Ellie what Wu had told him.

"We have to go back then!" Ellie told Grant.

"Ellie, are you crazy?" Grant asked her. "I thought you wanted to go back home, to Montana, where the fossils don't try to kill you."

"I do, but we could help," Ellie insisted. "This Dodgson guy needs to be stopped. You saw what happened when Hammond had his hands on the technology to recreate dinosaurs. He wasn't perfect, but he had good intentions. But what if that knowledge comes into the possession of a dangerous man without the good intentions or a moral compass? Think of the destructive power that could be unleashed if we stand by and do nothing. I hate to say it Grant, but I could never live with myself if people get hurt because of Hammond's research falling into the wrong hands and I don't want to take that chance. After everything we've been through, I feel like this is our responsibility. And you know Wu could use our help."

Grant sighed. "You're right, Ellie. Let's go tell Wu that we'll be coming along."

Ellie kissed him. "Don't worry, we'll have each other's backs. No separating this time, okay?"

Grant nodded. "Hopefully this'll be a quick visit to the island if things go our way. In and out."

"Ian would probably disagree with you and rant about unpredictable outcomes."

"Luckily, he's too hurt to come with us."

"Ouch." They both laughed and went to tell Wu their decision.

* * *

Wu was beside himself with gladness.

"Having more big names attached to his operation will help us significantly," he jabbered. "Just imagine. The heroic Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler facing the dangers all over again, just to keep the research from falling into the wrong hands. Dodgson doesn't stand a chance."

Grant rolled his eyes. So that was all he cared about. Beating Dodgson at his game, not preventing the man from unleashing nightmares he didn't even want to think of.

"Edgar should be here right away," Wu continued. "We better eat something and then get to the airport."

They ate a quick meal and then jumped in a car and drove to the airport. As they were arriving, Edgar's jet was just pulling up.

They approached the sleek airplane. The door opened and a tall, gray-haired man with a scar running down his cheek peered out. "Ah, you brought some friends. Good."

"Let me introduce you to Edgar Prather," Wu said to Grant and the others. "Old friend of John's."

"Yes. Poor John. I was sorry to hear what happened to him," Edgar said. "Well, get on board. We have a long flight ahead of us."

Grant, Ellie, Harding, and Wu all took their seats. Wu immediately started conversing with Edgar and the other crew. To Grant, they looked like mercenaries.

Grant looked over at Harding. The older man was sweating and looked very unhinged. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he warbled. "I can't believe it… This is insane. What if I never see my daughters again…"

Grant reached out and clutched Ellie's hand. At least he had his loved one here with him. That was both a comfort and a curse.

"Strap yourselves in," Edgar said. "We're leaving."

The jet took off. Edgar, despite his orders to buckle up, hadn't done so himself. He came over and sat next to Harding.

"You're looking a little pale. Don't worry. We'll be in and out in flash. Nothing's gonna happen, I promise." He smiled encouragingly.

"I know what Malcolm would say if he were here," Harding muttered.

* * *

"Are they out of their minds?!" Malcolm snapped when he learned where Harding, Grant, and Sattler had gone. "Who would have predicted that the previously sane Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler would decide to go back to Isla Nublar after everything that's happened there." He laughed. "That's chaos theory."

"I can't believe he left me again," Jess said sadly, having been the bearer of bad news. "I thought we could finally spend some time together, but things never seem to work out." She sighed. "What if he doesn't come back this time?"

Malcolm suddenly calmed down, remembering his conversation with Kelly and being reminded of it by Jess. "Don't worry," Malcolm reassured her. "Your dad's tough. And smart. He'll be back in no time. But until then, you get to hang out with your big sister Sarah. You got Tim and Lex to keep you company. And me too."

Jess smiled. "Thanks, Dr. Malcolm. And maybe when all this is over my dad can come back with us to San Diego."

"I bet he will. When I'm better I got a lot of lost time to make up for with my daughter Kelly."

Jess suddenly frowned.

"What is it?" Malcolm asked, frowning.

"My dad told me about a girl who lost her mother on Nublar," Jess recalled. "Her name was Atlanta. She has it much worse than me. Oh, I hope she's doing okay. I feel sorry for her."

* * *

Diego had failed Dodgson and now the opportunity to take Wu out had passed, since his sources told him that the scientist was now on the move.

But Dodgson didn't have the time to stay mad about this. He had other plans that needed his involvement at the moment.

Dodgson looked at the files of the mercenaries Howard had hired earlier to get him off of Nublar. They looked like an effective group.

George Lawala, a hunter-for-hire.

Raul Lopez, a paleontologist with radical theories.

Sonya Durant, the only female guide west of Tanganyika.

Dodgson had to give Howard credit for putting together a good team in such a small period of time. And he was confident that they could successfully sneak onto Isla Nublar and get off without being noticed. And if they were found, he knew that they would take the appropriate actions to clean their tracks and leave nothing to associate themselves with Biosyn.

He could no longer afford to worry about Wu. This infiltration mission was the priority. This time he wasn't going to lose. This time, when InGen is at its weakest, Biosyn will come out on top. The time for action was now.

* * *

The plane flew low over the shimmering surface of the ocean.

"My sources indicate that we have at least a five hour head start on Dodgson," Edgar commented.

"Wonderful," Wu said. "That's more than enough time to get on the island, get my research, and get out. By the time we're gone, Dodgson won't even have arrived yet." He chuckled gleefully to himself.

Grant didn't care if they got the research before Dodgson. Well, he did a little bit. But he cared much more about just getting off this island alive.

"We'll be landing in fifteen minutes," the pilot announced.

"Excellent," Edgar said. "Yoder, Morales. You guys ready to rumble?"

The two men he'd indicated looked up attentively. The younger one, Yoder, was a handsome lad in this thirties with a buzz cut. The older one, Morales, was a buff, beefy, bearded guy with tattoos criss crossing his burly arms.

"You bet we are," Yoder said with a wild grin. "Oscar here especially. The guy rumbles just walking down the street." He laughed.

Oscar remained impassive.

"They're experts," Edgar said to Grant, Ellie and Harding. "Best of the bunch. Like Hammond always says, we spared no expense."

"Used to say," Harding reminded him. "He died, remember? On the very same island we're now flying towards?"

Edgar had no reply.

Fifteen minutes later, the plane settled down in a foggy clearing. The mercenaries and Edgar jumped out and immediately began setting up a perimeter. Grant, Ellie, Harding, and Wu looked nervously around.

"We would have landed closer to the visitor center, but there's no room there to," Wu said.

"Great. So we get to trek around in this dense fog?" Grant muttered.

Edgar handed him, Harding, Ellie and Wu some M4s and ammo. "You shouldn't have to use those, but it's better to be safe than sorry," he smiled.

"Hey boss!" Yoder called from across the clearing. "I think we're good to go!"

"Then let's move," Edgar said.

* * *

There was a commotion in the hospital. A new patient was being rushed into the emergency room on a stretcher. The patient had a nasty-looking bite on his arm. He was shaking and was screaming in Spanish about creatures with glowing eyes. Dr. Roberta "Bobbie" Carter had never seen anything like it.

* * *

Sarah Harding was in a local bar, getting a drink. She caught part of a conversation as she passed two men and she heard the mention of Isla Nublar.

"Excuse me, did you say Isla Nublar?" Sarah asked the two men, curious.

"That's right," the first man said. He was a tall, balding man with a hawk nose. His arms were bandaged, and he had another bandage on his cheek. The man he was with was younger, by maybe five years. Handsome, regal.

"We're planning a little expedition to the island," the first man continued.

"But isn't it on lock down by the Costa Rican government?" Sarah asked.

The two men exchanged a glance. "Well, technically speaking, yes. But we think we can get there," the second man said.

"You mean you're going to sneak on?"

"Oh no," the first man said, aghast. "You see, we've been afforded a special privilege. Some very prominent individuals in the government want some firsthand accounts of what exactly happened on the island. You see, we're researchers. We've been following Hammond's work for quite some time now. Now that the park has failed, it would be shame if all that wasted time and effort amounted to nothing. The people of the world deserve to know what happened on that island, don't you think?"

She did think that. "Actually, my father's on his way there right now."

The man widened his eyes. "Is that so? Well, that's quite the coincidence. What is he doing there, if I may ask?"

"I'm not sure. He didn't tell me."

"Just kind of took off, eh? I get that." He chuckled. "So what's your name?"

"Sarah. Yours?"

"Lewis. Lewis… Johnson. And this is my assistant, Howard… uh… Howard Ryan. So what do you do for a living, Sarah?"

"I'm a field biologist. I specialize in African wildlife."

"Oh, so you're like a field researcher? Interesting. Say…" he said, as if the idea had just occurred to him, "you wouldn't be interested in accompanying us to the island, would you? We could really use some professional assistance. As much as we can get."

"Oh… thank you. But I don't think I'm qualified…"

"Not qualified? Nonsense. I'll bet you have more knowledge of wildlife than anyone else in this room. Besides, I'm sure your father would be glad to see you there."

"Actually, I think he would freak."

Lewis guffawed merrily. "Well, I'm sure you know how to handle yourself. So, what do you say, Sarah? Are you in?"

"Why the hell not?" Sarah shrugged, knowing that she couldn't say no to an opportunity like this. "I would love to come along if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course it's not too much trouble," Lewis insisted. He raised his drink. "A toast."

The three put their drinks together.

"When do you leave?" Sarah asked.

"Does now work for you?"

"Uh, sure. Could I just get some of my equipment? It could help document your expedition."

"Great idea," Lewis commented. "We'll meet you at the docks. We'll tell the rest of the team to expect you."

Sarah nodded and ran out of the bar so she wouldn't waste any time.

"Come on, King," Dodgson told his partner once they were alone. "You heard her. Since her father is already heading to the island, our time table has been sped up. We need to leave now."

"But what will we do about Sarah?" King asked.

"I'll take care of it when the time comes," Dodgson promised. "Wasting time is something we can't afford, so let's go."

King nodded and the two left the bar to make the necessary preparations. Hopefully, Diego would have his boat ready soon.

* * *

Grant, Ellie, Harding, Wu, and the mercenaries trekked their way through the dense fog. It was so thick, Grant couldn't see ten feet in front of him.

"How much longer to the visitor center?" Wu asked anxiously.

"About ten minutes," Edgar replied. Edgar's eyes were constantly on the move, trying in vain to take everything in at once.

In the distance, they heard a mournful cry.

"What was that?" Yoder barked.

Grant recognized the cry. He'd heard it just two days ago. Now, what was it…

"Cearadactylus!" he remembered. "They're pterosaurs. Be careful; if one of them dive-bombs you, they can do serious damage."

"Okay. But what's a pterosaur?" Yoder wondered.

"One of the flying ones," Oscar told him. "Didn't you do any research, Billy?"

"Hey, you know me. I'm not the research kind of guy."

"In this case, research can mean the difference between life and death," Ellie told him brusquely. "Actually, apply that to everyday life. You won't regret it."

"Thanks for the tips, doc."

They marched onward, keeping their eyes and ears open.

They came to cement. Grant realized they were at the helipad. He had a sudden sense of deja-vu… Had it really only been two days ago when he was last here?

"Just down this road and we should be at the visitor center," Wu announced.

Following the road, they arrived soon at their destination. The visitor center. The doors had been smashed off their hinges, as if something huge had broken through. Walking inside, they were greeted by an eerie silence. The rotunda was a mess, the "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" banner hanging overhead. Grant recognized what looked like dried blood stains on the floor. The skeletons that once towered overhead seemed like they had fallen apart, their parts scattered around the area.

"Remember to stick together," Harding reminded. "And stay away from the dark. Where to first, Wu?"

"My office," Wu explained. "My most sensitive data would be kept there."

He lead them up a staircase and he used his key card to unlock the door. The group noticed a bloody hand print on the window. Looking around the office, Ellie soon found something that encouraged a horrified gasp from her.

She had found Laura Sorkin.

The geneticist had looked better.

She was sitting in a heap on the floor, her back leaned up against the wall. She had bloodied scratch marks all over her body: her face, her arms, her legs, her stomach. Beside her, sat an open medical kit, the contents of which strewn all around the unconscious woman.

"Everyone," Ellie said. "Come look at this."

Everyone came over. Wu let out a feverish gasp.

"Is she alive?" Edgar asked.

Oscar walked over and put his hand to her neck. "There's a pulse," he reported.

Grant leaned in closer. "I don't believe it," he said.

"What?"

"She survived. She fought those things off," he said.

"What things?" Edgar asked.

"Troodon," Wu said. "Like raptors, but smaller and more deadly."

"They have a nasty habit of laying their eggs in the bodies of their still-alive victims," Harding murmured.

Yoder, Edgar and Oscar looked at him in shock. "That wasn't in the field guide," Oscar said.

"No. They weren't even supposed to exist. But she kept them alive," Wu said, gesturing to Sorkin.

"What did you mean, she fought them off?" Edgar asked Grant.

"Well, obviously she did. Otherwise she'd be buried in a nest somewhere with eggs in her stomach. It's amazing. I don't think anyone has survived that. Not even Robert Muldoon."

"How'd she do it?"

Grant shrugged. "Wish I knew." He picked up an empty syringe which was lying next to her. "She pumped herself full of morphine. That's why she's asleep. She was able to hold them off long enough and then used the morphine to dull the pain."

"She's losing a lot of blood," Edgar noted. "I doubt she'll live through this."

"Well, we can at least try to save her," Ellie said.

Suddenly, Harding began shouting. "You said she was dead." He was glaring at Wu. Wu appeared stunned.

"I thought-"

"Right, you 'thought.' But you didn't know for sure. You know, something's been puzzling me about what you told me. You managed to escape, but somehow she didn't? How exactly did that happen? Huh?"

"I just… they came out of nowhere and jumped all over her… What was I supposed to do?" Wu asked.

"You sure you didn't just lock her in here?" Harding demanded.

"What? Of course not!"

There was a short pause. Harding's chest was rising and falling. He looked like a bull about to charge. Suddenly, he deflated and sank against the wall.

"I'm sorry," he said, running his hand over his face. "It's the stress… of being back here. Coming in and seeing… this." He motioned to Sorkin's unmoving body.

"It's okay, Gerry," Ellie said. "We're all afraid. It's alright. We'll be out of here in no time." She turned to Wu. "Better get your stuff."

Edgar nodded. "I'll help Dr. Sattler patch this woman up. Maybe there's a chance she'll survive. The rest of you, help Dr. Wu."

Wu found Sorkin's knapsack nearby, its contents laying about. He quickly gathered up what rightfully belonged to him, checking to make sure nobody was looking. He placed the journals in his own bag, including the one marked 'INDOMINUS.'

Sorkin's survival shocked and worried him. He was sure that she still wanted to ruin him. If he was lucky, maybe she would just die from her wounds. If he was unlucky, maybe he could still arrange an accident for her without attracting too much suspicion before they left the island.

Either way, he was not going to let Sorkin stop him and let years of research go to waste. He had worked too hard to fail now.

"Is that everything?" Grant asked.

"Not quite. I would like to bring some frozen embryos, as well."

Grant eyed him suspiciously. "What for?"

"For insurance for the future."

Grant scowled. "You're not planning on building another park are you? Well, it doesn't matter if you are or not. There's no way they're going to let you do it."

"Yes, I know. Trust me, I do. But what's the harm in salvaging a little material? Remember, this is my life's work."

Grant slammed his fist down on a table. "Your 'life's work' has killed people! Seriously, how big of an idiot can you be?"

Wu was astonished. A moment later, that astonishment was replaced with anger. "You think I don't know that?" he spat. "Robert Muldoon was a good friend of mine. Believe me, I understand what my actions have caused. I don't plan on repeating them."

"Then leave the embryos alone," Grant hissed. "Let them be. Let this park fade from our memories. It's better this way."

"Maybe for you. You're just a guy who digs up bones. Visionaries like me are the future." He grinned wickedly. "Oh. I get it. You're just concerned that if I go ahead and breed more dinosaurs, your career will become obsolete."

"If you think that's why, you're sadly mistaken," Grant retorted. With that, he stormed out of the room.

Yoder and Morales stood by, looking uncomfortable. Harding looked guilty. Perhaps he was remembering of his own involvement in the park.

"Come on," Wu said stiffly. "Let's just get the embryos and get out of here."

* * *

**First, let's address the elephant in the room: Sorkin is alive. I did intend for her to stay dead after The Isla Nublar Incident, though I planned for the characters to find her body in The Chaos Continues. It would have been a disturbing scene revealing that the Troodon had laid eggs in her. But then my co-writer wrote the reveal that she was still alive, something that really surprised me... and I went with it. I felt like Sorkin's survival could lead to more interesting stories and conflicts. She's a wild card, after all...**

**It might also be a surprise to you that Sarah Harding is a main character in this story, getting involved with InGen's dinosaurs before the events of The Lost World. Similar to Malcolm's conversation with Kelly and the scene with Peter Ludlow, I did want to set up a few elements and characters from the second film much earlier. Those three characters were mentioned in The Isla Nublar Incident, if you remember. And a big reason I had Sarah involved in this story was to see her interact with her father and little sister, something we never saw in any of the canons. In the novel canon, her relationship with Gerry Harding was only implied. In the film canon, her relationship with Gerry Harding was only mentioned in the Telltale game. I actually consider the Harding family to be the "heart" of this new ****continuity, since their main motivation among the greedy and the ambitious is family. I also wanted to show the first meeting of Malcolm and Sarah, with Jess playing matchmaker and helping to start their relationship, following up on her telling Malcolm about Sarah on Nublar.**

**As for some of the new characters... Edgar Prather is a character from the Topps "Return to Jurassic Park" comics, which did serve as inspiration for this story. Raul Lopez and Sonya Durant are also from "Return to Jurassic Park." George Lawala is from the Topps "Raptor" comic storyline, the one which actually had the return of Robert Muldoon after he seemingly died in the first movie. Muldoon was a badass in the Topps comics, but unfortunately he drew the short straw in this continuity and had to be mercy killed by Ellie. Billy Yoder and Oscar Morales, the mercenaries accompanying Edgar, are from Telltale's "Jurassic Park: The Game."**

**Anyway, please leave a review and I'll get the second part out as soon as possible. Any feedback is appreciated.**


	2. Second Iteration

**Welcome back to The Chaos Continues! Though the stage is still being set, you can count on me delivering on that promise of more chaos. Once again, reviews and feedback are appreciated. I would love to talk about this passion project with anyone is appreciated and I like knowing that people are actually reading my stuff.**

* * *

**Second Iteration**

"_With subsequent drawings of the fractal curve, sudden changes may appear."_

-IAN MALCOLM

Sarah Harding retrieved her equipment and arrived at the docks, where Lewis Johnson and Howard Ryan were waiting for her with the rest of their team, who Sarah was quickly introduced to so that they could be on their way.

One of them was a hired local wearing a hat, the man named Diego who was taking the small expedition to Isla Nublar in his boat.

There were two guides, a black man with hunting experience in need of a shave with one earring named George Lawala and a woman with long black hair and blue eyes wearing jungle gear named Sonya Durant.

Diego, George Lawala, and Sonya Durant ignored Sarah, but one of the members of the team walked up to Sarah with a friendly smile and gave her a firm handshake.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Dr. Harding," the bearded man greeted. "It's also a surprise, last I heard you were conducting research in Africa."

"I was," Sarah nodded. "But something came up. A family emergency."

"You know her, Raul?" Lewis asked curiously.

"Of course," the man beamed. "Famous animal behaviorist, especially in the study of predators. I'm Raul Herrera, by the way. I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Great," Lewis interrupted. "Now that we've all been introduced to each other, we can get a move on. Isla Nublar awaits."

Soon they were on their way, Sarah oblivious to the group's ulterior motives. Little did anybody know that there was an eighth person on board. A stowaway. A Costa Rican girl named Atlanta Cruz who had learned of the group's destination and hoped that this could be her chance to learn more about what exactly happened to her mother on the island… and perhaps get some well-needed closure.

* * *

The hospital had a no smoking rule, so John "Ray" Arnold had to take his cigarettes outside.

He leaned against the building, thinking about recent events. Some men nearby was talking and he couldn't help but listen in to their conversation.

"Where did they find him?"

"Near the edge of the jungle. Something attacked him. We don't know what, but the bite's not like anything I've ever seen before."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I have no idea. It looked like it was infected, maybe the creature that bit him was venomous. But we have no idea what the venom will do to his body."

"At least we found him. I heard some people are just disappearing."

"There's still some hope that they'll eventually turn up. I am worried that the guy's going mad. He kept screaming about glowing eyes…"

Arnold's cigarette fell out of his mouth and onto the ground. "Excuse me?" he asked the men. "Did you say glowing eyes?"

"Yeah, I did," the man scoffed. "Now mind your own business and stay out of conversations you're not part of."

"Where is this man?" Arnold needed to know. Healthcare here was good, but if this man was attacked by what he suspected were former inhabitants of Isla Nublar, the doctors had no idea what they were dealing with or what they were doing. But he might.

* * *

Elena was shown another picture and once again she shook her head. For hours they had been trying to identify the animals that she had seen killing the baby, but so far she had been unable to recognize the creatures.

"I'm sorry," she told the man with the pictures, a bearded Welsh researcher dressed in khakis named Martin Gutierrez. "I wish that I could be more helpful.

"It's alright," Gutierrez reassured her. "There is one more picture I want to show you. Tell me if it looks familiar."

He pulled out the last picture and Elena gasped, her hands covering her mouth. She nodded quickly, tears streaming down her face as she was reminded of the baby's death that she had been unable to prevent. "That's it. That's what I saw."

The picture was an artist's depiction of a creature that supposedly went extinct millions of years ago. Compsognathus triassicus.

"You should know that this isn't the first time somebody has seen creatures like the ones you described," Gutierrez told Elena. "I've been following up on recent sightings of unknown animals and I believe that there is something is out there, in the jungles…"

"There are more of these lizards?"

"Oh, I'm looking for more than just lizards."

* * *

Arnold was eventually able to pry the information he needed out of the two locals. Hurrying back to the hospital, he asked one of the maids where he could find the head doctor.

She directed him to a room down the hall.

Arnold hustled down the hall and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came a female's voice.

Arnold didn't know how to explain. "Uh, my name is John. I have an urgent message."

The door opened a crack and a woman peered through at him. She was an American; had a tank top on and cutoff jeans, and a stethoscope around her neck.

"Are you the head doctor?" Arnold asked.

The woman looked irritated. "No. I'm just an intern. What do you want?"

"Where's the man? The sick man who you brought in this morning?"

The woman raised her eyebrows. "He's here... why?"

"That man is very sick. He's been bit by a highly venomous creature. I can tell you all about it. And how to cure him."

"And how do you know all this?" the woman wanted to know.

"I… I was there, when they were born," Arnold said. "And I was bit by one of them myself. Look."

He unraveled the bandages on his arm, revealing the scarred, mutilated skin underneath.

"Trust me. He will die if we doesn't get the proper treatment. And I have the proper treatment."

Reluctantly, the woman opened the door for him. "Fine. It stinks in here, just to let you know. My name's Bobbie, by the way. Bobbie Carter."

* * *

Grant stormed into the rotunda angrily, Ellie running after him.

"Alan! Don't run off on your own! The last time we were in this building it was full of Troodon and raptors."

Grant sighed. "Yeah, I know. I guess Wu is just getting under my skin. To be honest, I don't completely trust him. I'm worried that he might put saving his work over human lives."

"Are you regretting coming along?"

"Maybe. What's the point of keeping this data out of Dodgson's hands if Wu turns out to be just as bad? Despite everything that's happened, I think he's proud of his creations."

"We just have to put up with it a little longer, Alan. Maybe InGen will decide to stop funding Wu's work because they don't want another incident."

"Depends on who takes over the company now that Hammond is gone. Hammond was flawed, but not a bad man. He was a dreamer. The new CEO might just care about making money."

"You think history is doomed to repeat itself?"

"Maybe. I wouldn't be surprised if we go out like the din-"

Thoom. The ground shook. Grant and Ellie froze.

"Did you feel that?" Ellie asked. Grant nodded.

Thoom. It was getting louder and closer. Thoom.

"Oh shit…" Grant swore.

Grant and Ellie ran back into the room they were previously in.

Edgar looked up as they entered. He was just finishing up wrapping Sorkin's wounds.

"Did you hear that too?" he asked.

Grant nodded. "It must have been the tyrannosaur."

"Are you sure?"

Grant nodded again, slower this time. "I could never forget that sound."

The vibrations and sounds repeated themselves several more times, each time getting louder and closer.

"It's coming this way," Edgar said. He hoisted Sorkin onto his shoulder. "Get Wu and the mercs. We're leaving."

Grant and Ellie ran down the hallway to the embryonic room.

"We have to go," he announced.

Wu slung a bag over his shoulder. "Right. We have everything. We can go." He avoided Grant's eyes.

"Is that the T-Rex?" Yoder asked.

Grant nodded. "She must have picked up our scent."

"She?" Yoder repeated, looking baffled.

"Yes, she. Now come on; we don't want to be here when she comes."

Grant, Ellie, Wu, Harding, Yoder and Morales ran down the hallway to Wu's office. Edgar emerged from the office with Sorkin slung over his shoulder.

"Let's move," he said.

They ran into the rotunda when another thunderous tremor shook the building. They had the exit in the sight when a massive body suddenly stepped in front of it, blocking their way out. The Tyrannosaurus had walked into the lobby through the unfinished wall. For a moment there was a surprised silence, the humans looking up in awe at the Queen of the island. For Billy and Oscar this was their first dinosaur. Suddenly, the Tyrannosaurus roared and panic began to sink in.

Yoder, Morales, Harding, and Grant and Ellie raised their M4s in preparation to fire.

"Go back!" Edgar shouted.

They began inching their way, step by step, back the way they had come.

The tyrannosaur stood there, her yellow eyes fixated on these strange pink creatures. When all of a sudden, she took a bounding step forward.

Grant squeezed the trigger as hard as he could. The gun bunked in his hands. A spray of bullets slashed into the mighty beast's scaly hide. The tyrannosaur bellow in pain and shrank away, hurt and confused.

Grant was about to let out a sigh of relief when the dinosaur charged again, this time bellowing so loudly that it made his eardrums ache. Grant fired again, as did the others, but the tyrannosaur did not stop. It seemed every time a bullet penetrated her hide, she just got more angry.

Grant realized there was no stopping this thing. "Run!" he shouted.

Everyone ran back into the hallway. Grant shot a glance over his shoulder. Harding was right behind him. He saw the tyrannosaurus' massive feet. The head came down, jaws snapping. The jaws closed around Harding's boot. The vet let out a scream as he began to be pulled back.

* * *

After helping Dr. Carter through the proper treatment, the patient's condition stabilized and his breathing returned to normal. He was going to live. Arnold gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," Dr. Carter said to him. "Though this does raise more questions." She gave him a suspicious look. "You're with InGen, right? You're part of the group that was dropped off yesterday. From the island InGen is building a resort on."

Arnold nodded. "I'm John Arnold. An engineer."

Dr. Carter nodded. "Not too long ago, InGen brought me a patient. A worker named Jophery who had been severely injured. A man named Ed Regis told me that he had been injured in a maintenance accident, but I knew it was a lie because of the claw marks and flesh wounds, almost like an animal mauling. I tried treating Jophery, but he there was little I could do for him. Before he died, his last word was raptor. I didn't know what to make of it."

Arnold was silent. He remembered the accident. Jophery had been the gatekeeper and was attacked by a raptor, the Big One, while moving her into her enclosure.

"Then InGen showed up again, this time wanting me to perform surgery on a man's leg, telling me nothing about what happened on that island except that you apparently had to evacuate it. And now this patient is bitten by an unknown creature that you seem familiar with. Can you fill me on on what the hell is going on?"

"We were building a zoo on Isla Nublar," Arnold explained, trying to not reveal too much. "A lot of exotic animals, including some pretty dangerous ones. During the storm two nights ago we lost power and we had to evacuate. The creatures that attacked your patient also attacked me, but I have no idea how they got on the mainland."

"So dangerous animals alien to the ecosystem are running loose in the jungles and we have InGen to blame?" Dr. Carter asked angrily.

"Uh, yeah," Arnold said, thinking. "I could call somebody. One of my superiors. I promise that we'll do anything in our power to deal with these creatures."

Dr. Carter nodded, still suspicious. She knew that he wasn't telling her everything. "Yeah, do that. I don't want this treatment to become a regular thing, so make sure that InGen is held responsible for this and that they clean up their mess."

Arnold left the room and ran over to a phone. After a while, somebody picked up.

"Ludlow, this is Arnold. We have a situation in Costa Rica."

"Yes, I know. Everyone in the company knows. Things are going to hell."

"No, there's something else. Something that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible."

"What?"

"There are Troodon on the mainland."

"What?! How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but there's a patient in the local hospital with a Troodon bite wound. He was ranting about creatures with glowing eyes. I helped save his life, but there's still the issue of the animals themselves."

"Yes, if left unchecked this could create more trouble for the company. We can't afford to do nothing. I'll send a team of specialists over at once. They'll track down the assets and put them down. Thank you for calling me, Arnold."

"I just don't this situation to escalate more than it already has."

"That makes two of us."

The call ended and Arnold gave a sigh of relief.

* * *

The little steam boat plowed through the ocean waves.

Dodgson stood on the helm, gazing out at the vast blue waters, irritable. We should have left hours ago, he thought to himself. No doubt Wu and his team were already on the island; no doubt they were gathering up Wu's precious research. Dodgson swore to himself. If this all turned out to be a wasted effort, he'd… he'd… he wasn't sure what he would do. Fire someone, probably. But even that didn't seem enough.

Yet there was a still a chance they'd be able to intercept them, and steal the research. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless. They had time, which was good. Because Dodgson still had to figure out what to do with their newest companion.

Certainly, she could prove useful to them. Dodgson had a wicked idea. Maybe he could negotiate a trade. The woman for the research. The woman's father was on the island, she'd told him. Certainly he'd be more than willing to exchange the research for his daughter's life.

Sounded like a plan to Dodgson. But when he shared the plan with King, the man didn't exactly agree.

"You want to what?" he demanded when Dodgson got through telling him the plan. "No way Lewis. I didn't agree to this. I told you it was a bad idea to bring her along-"

"For insurance, Howard. Like I told you," Dodgson interrupted.

King shook his head. "No, Lewis, I won't be party to this. This is wrong. Stealing Wu's research I can understand. The blockhead could do with a lesson in humility anyway. But this woman's got nothing to do with any of this."

"I don't want to do this," Dodgson told him. "I'm just saying that if there's no other choice, a bargaining chip might come in handy."

King shook his head again. "No. I won't be a part of this."

"Think for a second Howard! No one's going to get hurt! It'll be a painless transfer. The research for the girl. Come on. Think of it. If we get that data, we'll be rich men. We'll be famous. We'll be remembered for centuries as the men who brought dinosaurs back to life."

"But we aren't those men," King said. "Wu was the one who did it."

"Yeah, but the public don't have to know that. Come on Howard: are you in or are you out?"

King sighed heavily. "I'm in, but I don't like it. Who else knows?"

"No one. I'll tell them later."

King walked past him. Dodgson wandered into the cabin. Raul and Sonya were having some beers and playing cards. Sarah was nowhere to be seen.

"Has anyone seen the girl?" he asked.

Raul gestured his head. "Below deck. Think she might be seasick."

"Her, too?" Dodgson said, thinking of George Baselton, who had retreated below deck almost as soon as they left port. "Well, if you see her, tell her I want to talk to her."

* * *

Sarah was below deck, looking through the equipment that they were bringing with them. There were a lot of weapons…

Then she heard something. Movement. She went to check it out. It sounded larger than a rat.

"Is anybody there?" Sarah asked, looking around a crate.

Then she saw her. The stowaway. Atlanta Cruz.

* * *

"I'm still not clear on Chaos," Jess told Malcolm while the two ate hospital food in his room. "What exactly does it mean?"

"It simply deals with unpredictability in complex systems," Malcolm explained. "Its only principle is the Butterfly Effect. A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking and in Central Park you get rain instead of sunshine.

Jess gestured with her hand to show that this information had gone right over her head.

"Did I go too fast?" Malcolm asked.

"I missed it," Jess admitted.

Malcolm looked for another example. He pointed to the glass of water by his bed. "Here. Give me the glass of water. We're going to conduct an experiment."

He dipped his hand into the glass of water and took Jess' hand in his own.

"Now put your hand flat like a hieroglyphics. Say a drop of water falls on your way is the drop going to fall off. Which finger?"

"Thumb, I'd say," Jess guessed. Malcolm flicked his fingers and a drop falls on the back of Jess' hand.

"Aha. Okay. Now freeze your hand. Don't move. I'm going to do the same thing from the exact same place. Which way is the drop going to roll off?

"The same way."

Malcolm repeated what he did. "See, it changed. Why? Because tiny variations - the orientations of the hairs on your hand, the amount of blood distending in your vessels, imperfections in the skin - never repeat, and vastly affect the outcome. That's what?"

"Unpredictability…"

"Right."

The phone rang and Malcolm took it. "Yes?"

"Ian, it's Karen. Kelly's gone!"

Jess saw Malcolm's face change from friendly to concerned and scared. "What?"

"She climbed out of her window and took her passport with her!"

"When did you last see her?"

"A few hours ago. She said she wanted to be alone. I went to check on her, but by then she was already long gone."

"Did you call the police?"

"Of course. It was the first thing I did. Ian, I'm so sorry…"

Malcolm heard Karen crying. "It's okay. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. Just keep me updated on the search. We'll find her."

Malcolm ended the call. "Are you alright, Dr. Malcolm?" Jess asked, worried.

Malcolm nodded. "Knowing my daughter, she probably did the one thing I told her not to do."

"What's that?"

Malcolm sighed. "She's coming to Costa Rica."

* * *

Benicio carried the trash out to the garbage bin. He removed the lid from the bin and tossed the garbage inside. As he put the lid back down, he heard a noise. A faint rustling coming from somewhere to his right. He peered into the darkness. A moment later a pair of fluorescent eyes penetrated the darkness. Staring at him. Benicio began backing away. He turned and sprinted back for the house. He heard heavy footsteps. It was chasing him! He reached the door and flung it open. He slammed the door behind him. He sank to the ground, muttering a prayer, as his family surrounded him asking him what was wrong.

* * *

Several men and women stood huddled around a fire, warming themselves and talking in hushed Spanish. They were angry, full of resolve. The monsters that had been terrorizing them for the last day had to be dealt with. Already, a little girl and an old man had been killed by them. Who knows who might die next on account of these nighttime horrors?

A storm was brewing in the camp…

* * *

Trey Roland sat back in his chair and relaxed. After everything that went down on Nublar, he needed this. He had agreed to watch Tim and Lex while Grant and Ellie went off on their recovery mission with Wu and Harding. The kids were fine at the moment, splashing away in the swimming pool, so Trey could now take in easy.

A shadow blocked his sun. It was Arnold.

"Trey Roland, right?" Arnold asked.

"That's right, Mr. Arnold. What's up?"

Arnold glanced at the kids, making sure they weren't listening. "We have a problem. There are Troodon on the mainland."

* * *

Grant grabbed Harding's arms and pulled, but the tyrannosaur was stronger than both of them and was dragging Grant as well.

Edgar threw something. "Quick, cover your eyes!"

The flash grenade went off, causing the Rex to temporarily release Harding. Grant pulled him to safety.

"Thanks, Edgar," Harding said, breathing hard.

"I got bad news though."

"What?"

"Sorkin's gone. She must have woken up and slipped away in the confusion."

"No time to worry about her," Wu said hastily. "We have to get out of here."

Edgar took the lead. Yoder and Morales took the back. The group ran down several long hallways.

"Stop," Harding said. Everyone pulled to a halt. "What?" Edgar asked.

Harding put a hand to his ear. "That…"

Edgar listened carefully. He heard it. A faint, distant clicking sound.

"What is that?" Yoder asked.

"Troodon," Wu whispered. "They're not far off our trail."

"They hate the light. So long as we stick to the brightest parts of the building, we should be good," Ellie added.

Yoder shook his head. "You sure we're still dealing with dinosaurs at this point?"

"No," Grant murmured. "They aren't dinosaurs."

"Come on." Edgar motioned for them to keep going. "Is there another way out of this place, Wu?"

"Yeah," Wu said. "Just follow me."

He led them to a back door and out they went. Edgar, Yoder and Morales assumed defensive positions around the others, shielding them in the middle.

"We should be out of here within half an hour," Edgar said. "Provided we don't run into any more dinos."

* * *

Dodgson went below deck to look for Sarah. "Dr. Harding, are you down here?" he called out.

"Lewis, I found somebody," he heard Sarah shout.

Running in the direction of her voice, he was surprised to find a young Costa Rican girl who was cornered.

"Well, looks like we got a stowaway," Dodgson realized. "Let's bring her out."

* * *

D-Caf was waiting by the plane for the others to return. In the distance he heard the call of herbivores.

"They better be back soon," he said to himself. "I feel like a sitting duck out here." He checked his gun, just in case he would have to use it.

Thoom. The ground shook. Thoom.

"What the hell?"

Something was coming this way. Something big. Then D-Caf heard it. The roar of a tyrannosaur.

* * *

"What?" Trey whispered, trying not to get the attention of the kids. "How?"

"I don't know," Arnold admitted. "But I called Ludlow. He's sending some specialists."

"So he's sending mercs," Trey guessed.

"Probably. Hopefully, this is dealt with quickly before there's a panic."

"Yeah, but just in case I'm locking my door at night," Trey commented, remembering being chased down the tunnels of Isla Nublar by the creatures. He hoped that the kids weren't in any danger, but he had a feeling that they were all at risk.

* * *

By the time they reached the clearing again, everyone was soaked through with sweat and their nerves were absolutely through the roof.

"Finally," Edgar said with relief when the plane came into sight and he saw D-Caf standing next to it. "I was beginning to worry we'd never get out of here."

"About time!" D-Caf hollered at them. "I heard some weird sounds a second ago. It sounded like thunder."

"That was the T-Rex," Yoder told him. "Aw man D-Caf, you should have seen her!"

Everyone filed into the plane. As Grant took his seat, he suddenly remembered something.

"Wait!" he said. "What about Sorkin? We're not going to just leave her here are we?"

Edgar looked back at him. "We can't stay. It's too dangerous."

"But she'll die."

"Then her problems will be over," Wu said. There was a distinct spitefulness in his voice that gave Grant pause.

"Wait a minute…" he started to say.

Suddenly, the ground shook.

"Hear that?" Edgar said. "She's on her way here! We have to go. There's no time for Sorkin."

"We can't just leave her here!" Ellie protested.

"There's no discussion to be had!" Edgar shouted back, turning to D-Caf. "Get us out of here."

D-Caf flicked some dials and switches. The propellers began to spin.

Oscar leaned out the door. "No sign of her," he said, referring to the T-Rex.

But the footsteps were getting louder and louder.

The plane began to roll down the runway.

"Hold onto your butts!" D-Caf shouted to his passengers as the plane began to lift off the ground. It looked like they were home free…

Up ahead, the Tyrannosaurus stepped onto the runway, roaring. Right in the plane's path. D-Caf's eyes widened in horror. He tried to do evasive maneuvers, but it was too late. The Tyrannosaurus was too close. They were going to ram her.

As he desperately tried to avoid the collision, the Tyrannosaurus struck.

The great beast swung her head into the side of the plane.

The impact caused that side to crumple inward. D-Caf found himself pinned to his chair. Desperately, he grappled with the controls in a vain attempt to recover, but it was too late.

The plane was too badly damaged. They weren't going anywhere.

Outside, the tyrannosaur bellowed. Inside, everyone was screaming and shouting.

* * *

Arnold then noticed that a bearded Welsh man in khakis was walking toward him and Trey.

"Are you John Arnold and Trey Roland?" the man asked the two.

Arnold nodded. "That's us. And you are?"

"Martin Gutierrez. Local researcher. I'm investigating sightings of unknown animals in the region. I have some questions to ask both of you."

* * *

Laura Sorkin made it into the garage, wincing in pain.

Getting in one of the jeeps, she started driving with the destination of her field laboratory in mind. She didn't know if she could leave the island or even if she wanted to. Or if taking down Wu was still a possibility. But there was still something she could do and the needs to carry it out were at her lab.

* * *

Tactical sergeant Michael Wolfskin looked over the Costa Rican jungles as their helicopter passed over. Ludlow had placed him in charge of the team of specialists that had been given the task of hunting down the creatures attacking locals. With him was Vargas, a soldier who had previously fought in the Vietnam War. Garza, a mercenary. And Linares, their pilot. They were Bravo Team.

* * *

"Evacuate!" Edgar shouted, making his voice heard above the clamor.

Outside, the tyrannosaur brought her great foot down on the plane. The steel crumpled and snapped under her weight.

Edgar threw open the door and waved. "Go, go, go!"

"Are you kidding?" Wu shouted back. "I'm not going out there!"

"Suit yourself!" Edgar shouted back. "Yoder, Morales! We gotta cover for them. D-Caf?"

"I'm stuck!" D-Caf cried. He was trapped in the cockpit. Edgar made his way over to him and pulled him out.

The plane shuddered. Grant looked through a broken window. He saw the T-Rex biting at the wing.

"She's distracted. Now's the time!" he said.

Edgar, Yoder, Morales and a bruised-up D-Caf ran out of the plane. Grant, Harding, Ellie and Wu followed.

Grant got ready to make a mad dash, but to his surprise found the mercenaries crouched right beside the door. Edgar motioned with his hand. Grant understood. They were going to try to sneak away undetected.

* * *

Dodgson pulled the girl out from below deck and onto the helm, calling out to the others. "Hey, everyone! Dr. Harding found a stowaway who wanted free passage!"

"Be careful with her, Lewis," Sarah told him. "She's just a kid."

"And this is a delicate operation! She's an unwanted variable that could endanger our mission!" He turned to the girl, who had been struggling against him. "Who are you?"

"Go to hell," the girl cursed.

"Don't hurt her," King said, arriving on the scene. "Sarah's right, Lewis. Take it easy."

Dodgson sighed and let go of the girl's arm, but the kid kept glaring at him.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I just can't afford anything going wrong. We can't afford to turn back and drop her off. We don't have the time. So this stupid kid is stuck with us."

"Good," the kid told him. "Because I want to go to Isla Nublar."

Dodgson's eyes widened. "How do you know where we're going?"

The girl smiled slyly. "I was in the bar. You talk too much. And too loudly."

"Why do you want to go to Isla Nublar?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Because my mother was born there," the girl told her. "Died there, too. I want to know the full story."

Dodgson had a suspicion. "Who's your mother?"

"Ninguno de tu maldito negocio, mamón," the snapped at him in Spanish. Dodgson turned to Diego.

"What did she say?"

"Uh… you don't want to know."

"Can you at least tell me your name?" Sarah asked. "We want to help you."

"Atlanta," the girl said after a few moments of silence. "My name is Atlanta."

That's all the information she gave. And that's all the information he needed. He showed no recognition, but he knew that name. Their stowaway was Nima's daughter and this definitely complicated things.

"Okay, you're stuck with us. But when we get to the island, I want you to stay on this boat. Alright? Do not take one step off this boat," Dodgson said icily. He turned to Diego, ignoring Atlanta's spiteful scowl. "You stay here with her, Diego. Got it?"

Diego grunted in response.

"Wonderful," Dodgson said sarcastically. He looked up. "We're almost there. Everyone grab your bags. Howard, get the cars ready."

Sonya, Raul and Lawala went below deck and came back with weapons and ammunition, and a very sickly-looking George Baselton.

Sarah looked at the weapons. "I thought you were just going to document."

"These are for protection," Dodgson assured her.

"Assault rifles?"

"For protection. Nothing more."

* * *

Marty Gutierrez folded his arms and regarded the two former Jurassic Park workers with a steely expression.

"I just spoke to Bobbie Carter. She says you said you worked on Nublar," the researcher said, pointing almost accusingly at Arnold. "From what I understand, your company is responsible for the creatures that have been wreaking havoc here. I want to know just what exactly they are."

Arnold and Trey exchanged a glance. They were both under a nondisclosure agreement that strictly forbade them from speaking out about anything to do with Jurassic Park. But in all honesty, Arnold just didn't care anymore. Hammond's experiments had almost killed him. Besides, the truth was bound to come out eventually. Why not say it now and possibly save some lives as a result?

"I think you better speak to Peter Ludlow," Arnold told Gutierrez.

"Who's he?"

"The current CEO of InGen. Probably the last there'll ever be, too."

"Okay. Give me his number."

* * *

Edgar, Yoder, Morales, D-Caf, Grant, Harding, Ellie and Wu did their best to stay quiet while they attempted to sneak away from the dinosaur that was wrecking what had been their only way off the island. The survivors made occasional glances back at the Rex, to make sure that her attention was on the plane.

There were almost at the safety of the jungle, only about ten yards away from the trees, when they heard the roar. She had seen them. And she was charging.

"Run!" Edgar screamed. "Run!"

* * *

Bobbie found her camera and took pictures of her patient's injuries. It was almost… parasitic. She frowned. What the hell was out there? And what else had InGen released upon the world?

She then heard something. A sound that she was used to hearing by now. A helicopter.

Looking out the window, she saw a helicopter circling overhead. She recognized the logo. InGen. Finally hear to deal with the consequences of their actions… or to cover them up.

* * *

A nurse entered Malcolm's room. "You have a guest, Dr. Malcolm."

Malcolm nodded. "I've been expecting one. Send her in."

The nurse left to get Malcolm's visitor. Jess turned to Malcolm. "You think it's your daughter?"

"Do I think that my daughter snuck out of her bedroom and flew to Costa Rica just to see me? Yes. Yes I do."

"Are you mad?"

"Of course. But after the ordeal on the island, it will be good to see her again."

The nurse returned to the room and she wasn't alone.

"Dad!"

Malcolm hugged his daughter. Then he stood back and gave her a stern, slightly angry look.

"I'll be back home in a matter of weeks," he said. "Couldn't you have waited?"

"I had to know what happened," Kelly said simply.

She regarded his twisted, bandaged leg.

"So what did happen?"

Malcolm sat down on his bed. He wasn't sure how to proceed. On the one hand, he'd signed a nondisclosure agreement. On the other hand, the man who'd insisted he sign such an agreement was dead. And the company was doomed. What was the point in keeping secrets anymore?

"Alright," he said. "Here's what happened…"

* * *

Edgar led the way into the trees. Behind them, the tyrannosaur bellowed and gave chase, her footfalls thundering through the earth.

Wu tripped and almost fell, but luckily was able to recover himself.

Wu's terror was extreme. It was like a drug that propelled his arms and legs to pump faster, harder.

This was the third time this week he regretted sorely ever breeding these animals.

They reached the treeline. They'd made it! Wu kept a step or two behind Morales. Branches slapped his face as he ran; his feet tripped over roots and rocks. Behind him, the T-Rex let out another fearsome bellow. Wu afforded himself a glance back.

To his horror, he saw the pilot D-Caf trapped in the jaws of the fearsome monster. The man flailed helplessly and screamed for help. His screams were cut abruptly short as the Rex bit down on his tiny body. A gush of blood spewed out and Wu looked away, sickened.

"Keep going!" Edgar shouted hoarsely.

Wu followed, stumbling through the foliage.

"Here!" Yoder said. He was pointing at the ground. Wu walked over and saw a hole, leading down into darkness.

"We can hide here," Yoder said.

"What if something's down there?" Morales asked.

Yoder produced a flare from his pocket, lit it, and dropped it down. The flare landed with a thunk on the soft earth.

Everyone peered in. "There's nothing down there," Edgar confirmed. "Alright. Everyone get in."

One by one, the survivors jumped into the pit. Edgar was the last. It was pretty cramped in there and smelled of dirt, but Wu knew better than to complain.

In the faint, flickering light of the flare, Wu studied the mercenaries' faces. They were grim, somber, clearly mourning the loss of D-Caf. Wu felt no such sorrow. Not that he didn't feel sorry for him, but because he had no prior connection to him. Maybe, if it had been Grant or Harding, Wu would have felt something.

Then Wu realized something. He reached for the strap of his bag. It should be around his shoulder. But it wasn't.

"I've lost it!" he cried in anguish.

"What?" Grant asked.

"My bag. I've lost the research, the embryos, everything!"

* * *

Wolfskin looked out the open door at the vast jungle below them.

"Set us down here, Linares!" he shouted.

The chopper lowered steadily until it touched ground. Wolfskin and his men jumped out and began setting up the perimeter.

"Reports indicate that the things were last spotted here," Wolfskin said.

* * *

Sarah looked toward Isla Nublar as they approached. She then noticed something. They looked like sea birds. No, Sarah realized. They were too big. And they were getting closer. One of the 'birds' gave a mournful cry and swooped down toward the humans.

Sarah now saw that the 'birds' looked more like huge bats, with pink membranes stretched across their fifteen-foot wingspans, heads like crocodiles, toothy beaks, and furry bodies. Lewis saw the creature's fast-moving shadow and he looked up. "Dactyls!" he shouted to the others.

Before Sarah could ask what Lewis meant, she heard gunshots go off. The bat-like creature was struck by bullets and fell, whistling as it hit the water.

The other 'dactyls' screamed and hurtled downward. Sarah got down as the members of Lewis' group kept firing at the attacking creatures. She covered her ears, trying to block out the sound of gunfire and the screams of the winged beasts.

She risked a glance and was shocked by what she saw. Something lunged out of the water and snapped its jaws on one of the dactyls before falling back into the water.

"What the hell was that?!" Sarah demanded.

"A Tylosaurus," Raul answered.

"A what?!"

"It's coming toward us!" somebody screamed. The dactyls were fleeing and Sarah could see the top of the tylosaur over the water heading toward them. Lewis' team began firing at the tylosaur, but they couldn't stop it from striking the boat.

Sarah had trouble processing what came next. She remembered being thrown into the air and landing in the water. She remembered seeing the boat that had taken her here slowly sinking. She remembered desperately swimming toward the island and seeing others doing the same. She remembered hearing Diego scream horribly and vanish beneath the surface, the blood where he had been turning red.

She couldn't save him. There was nothing she could do about that. All she could do now was swim for her life.

* * *

Atlanta swam with all her might. The water was freezing cold and chilled her to the bone, but fear, fear of that unseen creature that was lurking just beneath the surface and that had dragged Diego underwater, adrenalized her limbs, causing them to move faster despite the cold.

She heard another gurgled scream cut too short as the victim was yanked underwater. She didn't stop to wonder who it had been this time. She just kept swimming.

Eventually, she reached the bank and quickly scrambled up it. Her arms and legs and stomach muscles were on fire and she collapsed, panting, on the soft grass. She tilted her head to the side to see where the others were. Raul and Howard were still in the water, frantically swimming to shore. Lewis and Sonya were at this moment dragging themselves onto shore a few yards away. Sarah, Lawala and Baselton were nowhere to be seen.

Atlanta wagered it was either Lawala or Baselton who the beast dragged under, judging by the person's scream. It had definitely been male. That was relief; Atlanta liked Sarah, and would be sad if she died.

Shaking from the cold, Atlanta got to her feet and waited for Howard and Raul to reach the shoreline. The two men appeared exhausted and cold and terrified. Raul was muttering incoherently. Howard seemed to be in better condition. He fixed Atlanta with a look.

"Are you okay?"

Atlanta nodded her head, willing her arms to stop shaking.

"Do you know who else it got?" Howard asked.

Now Atlanta shook her head.

"I think it was Basetlon," Raul stammered. The older man was sitting on his ankles, rocking himself slightly. "But I'm not sure."

Howard nodded. "Okay. Well, let's find the others. Come on." And he started making his way further up the bank.

Atlanta followed after a moment, and finally Raul did as well.

* * *

**John "Ray" Arnold will really get to shine more here, since in both the movie and the novel he was killed by raptors on Isla Nublar. Not even being played by Samuel Jackson helped him in the movie, where he died offscreen.**

**Also, Dodgson is once again stranded on Isla Nublar. This is the second time it happened to him in a week. Poor guy can't catch a break. I honestly feel sorry for him.**

**A few of the new characters here are from the novel, like Bobbie Carter and Marty Gutierrez. Their role here is much larger than it was in the books, thanks to the mainland plot in The Chaos Continues. Michael Wolfskin is actually one of the playable characters from a video game called "Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues." Yep, that's where I got the title from. The others with him were Bravo Team in Telltale's "Jurassic Park: The Game." They weren't in it long because Vargas got bitten by a Troodon, went kinda crazy and killed the others. Things will play out slightly different here.**

**If you're interested, here's what Atlanta said to Dodgson in Spanish: ****None of your damn business, cocksucker. Yeah, she gets her mouth from her mother.**

**Anyway, stay tuned for the third iteration!**


	3. Third Iteration

**Welcome back to The Chaos Continues! The story is about to take a very dark turn in the near future, but that isn't until the fourth iteration. Big thanks to ultimate-drax and Lola Jeery for their reviews. Seriously, it feels great knowing that people are actually reading and enjoying this story. Thanks so much. Anyway, let's get this movable feast on its way...**

* * *

**Third Iteration**

"_Details emerge more clearly as the fractal curve is redrawn."_

-IAN MALCOLM

Wolfskin and his men followed the trail left by their targets deep into the jungle.

Wolfskin kept his eyes and ears open at all times, alert for the slightest movement or sound. He didn't plan on being ambushed by one of those nightmares. He'd heard the stories, seen the bites. He didn't intend to follow suit.

"Locked and loaded?" he said.

"Roger that," replied Linares, Vargas and Garza.

Suddenly, something caught Wolfskin's eye. Movement in the bushes ahead. Wolfskin lowered his rifle, took careful aim…

* * *

Malcolm remembered something. "Karen is going to be worried sick about you. I need to let her know where you are."

He called Karen up on the phone, but to his surprise another woman answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Uh, this is Ian Malcolm. Who is this and where's Karen?"

"Oh, this is Karen's sister. Karen's talking to the police right now. Called me over in tears, saying she had lost a child. Wanted me to stay here in case you called or something."

"Alright, could you just tell Karen that Kelly is safe and she's with me in Costa Rica. I'm sorry she had to go through this, but I'm thankful for her help. I'll see her in probably a few weeks."

"Okay. I'll tell her. She's going to be so relieved. Bye."

Malcolm ended the call and turned his attention back to Kelly.

"Who's this?" Kelly asked, pointing to Jess. "Have you been cheating on your daughter with another girl?" She gasped jokingly. "What sort of father are you?"

"This is Jess Harding," Malcolm introduced. "The daughter of an InGen employee. I'm watching her while her father is taking care of something. Jess, this is Kelly. My daughter who I expect to give Karen an apology when we're home for giving the poor woman a scare."

Jess waved at Kelly. "Hi. It's nice to finally meet the infamous Kelly Malcolm."

Kelly laughed. "Like father, like daughter. Dad, are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Well, I was high on medication for some of it, but Jess should be able to fill in the parts I can't…"

* * *

Tim and Lex were done with the pool and they got out, noticing Arnold and Trey talking to a Welsh man in khakis.

"Look," Lex whispered, getting Tim's attention. She pointed to an adorable stray dog that was looking at them. "Puppy."

The dog ran off and Lex started going after it, unable to resist such a cute creature. "Come on, while they're not looking."

Tim hesitated for a brief second before following his sister. They ran through alleys and streets as they chased down the dog. The dogs slipped around a corner with the kids close behind, but then they froze.

Lex covered her mouth, holding in a scream. The dog had been killed and feeding from it was a Velociraptor.

Tim almost fainted on the spot. His mind raced to make sense of it. What was a raptor doing here? How had she gotten off the island? There wasn't time to consider these questions. The raptor, Tim saw, was positioning herself to attack with her head low, tail straight, and arms drawn in to her sides. The beast let out a low hiss and then jumped-

Right over their heads. Tim seized the opportunity and began running, pulling Lex along with him. Behind him, he heard the raptor's ragged breathing.

Tim pulled Lex into an alleyway. It was a very small space between two buildings. Tim had a feeling the raptor would be too large to fit through. He was right.

The raptor's jaws clamped shut where his leg had been just a second before. She screeched in fury and began flailing with her forearms trying to reach them. But she couldn't. She was too big.

* * *

Martin Gutierrez was about to leave to call Ludlow, but he froze. "Do you hear that?"

Trey and Arnold listened. Then they heard it. A familiar shriek that they had hoped to never hear again.

Then they heard something else. Screaming. Children screaming.

Trey glanced at the pool. Tim and Lex were gone.

"Damn!" He and Arnold started running toward the kids, following the screams. A curious Gutierrez followed.

* * *

Laura Sorkin, having made it to her field laboratory, began treating herself using the medical equipment she kept there. It was nice to be back, even if her assistant David was no longer here to help her… she missed him. But there was no time to mourn. There was work to be done.

The first business that she needed to take care of was that damn lysine contingency. The lysine contingency was a genetic alteration Henry Wu performed in the dinosaur genome. The modification knocked out the ability of the dinosaurs to produce the amino acid lysine. This forced the dinosaurs to depend on lysine supplements provided by the park

s veterinary staff. In this way, dinosaurs could never escape from the park because they would never survive long without the food supplements, since the lysine contingency was intended to prevent the dinosaurs from damaging the global ecosystem. Without the lysine, the animals would collapse into a coma and eventually die.

Another disgusting idea from Henry Wu, Laura believed. She saw the whole thing as it really was, a cruel and unnecessary kill switch. However, she knew that she could add lysine to the island's water supply and she had the means to do so. After that was taken care of, Laura could focus on finding a way to get off the island. While at the visitor center, she had picked up some very special items that she wanted to save... Troodon eggs. Laura knew that she could find somebody on the mainland willing to support her research and take Wu down. She was a resourceful woman, after all.

Yep, the future was looking bright.

* * *

Sarah brushed aside from fronds and there was Lewis, sitting on a flat rock with Sonya. Both looked exhausted and terrified.

"What was that thing?" Sarah asked.

"A tylosaur." The voice came from behind. The bushes parted and Raul stepped out. Howard and Atlanta were with him. Sarah was relieved to see Atlanta in one piece.

"What's a tylosaur?" she pressed.

"A marine reptile," Raul continued. "An EXTINCT marine reptile."

Sarah squinted at him. "What are you talking about?"

There was a short pause. Then Lewis launched into a tirade:

"Hammond bred dinosaurs on this island. It was going to be a theme park, but something went wrong and everyone had to evacuate. Your father, Gerry, was the veterinarian here."

Sarah stared at the man in disbelief. "Are you making fun of me?" she demanded.

"No. I'm telling you the honest truth. But don't worry; you'll see for yourself in time."

"But it doesn't make sense! Bred dinosaurs? How?"

"There's no time to explain. We have to work out a plan."

"We have no boat. No cars. And no radio," Howard said. "What can we do?"

"Maybe we could try to find Dr. Wu," Sonya suggested.

Sarah could tell by the look on Lewis' face that the idea of seeking help from Wu disgusted him. "No. Here's what we'll do. We'll find the park facilities. There's got to be a phone there, somewhere we can use to call for help."

"But we're not even supposed to be here!" Howard objected.

Lewis shot him a furious look.

"I mean…" Howard quickly stammered, shooting Sarah a quick, nervous glance.

Sarah looked back and forth between them. "You said you had permission from the government to be here," she said. "You were lying, weren't you. You're not really supposed to be here. We're trespassers, aren't we?"

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Why are you really here?" Sarah asked after a moment.

"That's none of your business," Lewis snarled. "Look, let's just get to the park and get out of here."

"But what about Baselton, and Lawala?" Sonya asked.

"Baselton's dead," Lewis said grimly. "I saw him get pulled under. As for Lawala… he could be anywhere."

"There's a chance he might have made it. We have to look for him," Raul said.

"No. The longer we sit here, the more likely it is that something will find us," Lewis argued.

Raul folded his arms across his chest and fixed Lewis with a stubborn look. "I'm not leaving here without Lawala."

"Suit yourself. Those of you who want to live, follow me," Lewis snapped and began trekking up the hillside.

* * *

Michael Wolfskin heard something else. A hooting sound. Like an owl.

Another hoot, answering the first. Michael then realized that there was movement all around them. They were surrounded by the hooters. Michael had no idea how many were there, but he knew that they on the hunt and that Michael's men were the prey.

"Fall back," Michael told the others. They were at a disadvantage here. There was more than just Troodon out here.

In front of Michael, a creature with two crests on the top of her head hopped out of the bushes. Before Michael could react, a frill appeared and the animal hissed loudly. Something smacked onto Michael's face and he screamed as it started to burn. He dropped his gun and fell as he went blind. He felt the animal leaping onto his chest and a pair of jaws closing on his head.

The other men ran, leaving Michael behind. Whatever they had been expecting, this wasn't it.

All around them, the bushes shook and animals hooted. The mercenaries shot occasional bursts into the foliage, but didn't seem to hit anything.

Vargas and Linares heard Garza, who was the slowest, start to scream as something tackled him to the ground. But they didn't look back.

Up ahead was the helicopter. Linares climbed in and was about to take off… when something black hit the windshield.

Vargas saw the creatures standing at the edge of the jungle. He shot a few rounds at them and the animals vanished from view. But the dilophosaurs were still there, out of sight, watching…

Vargas jumped into the helicopter as Linares started the engine. The propellers began to rotate, slowly at first, gradually picking up speed. Vargas slammed the door shut. Catching his breath, he heard the monsters outside pounding on the sides of the helicopter.

The helicopter slowly began to gain altitude, until it was soaring high above the treetops once more. But this time, they were two men short.

"Get us back to HQ," Vargas said. "We have to report to Ludlow."

* * *

"How much longer do you want to sit in this hole?" Harding asked.

Edgar stood up and poked his head through the hole. He looked around for a moment before dropping back down.

"Coast is clear. If you're all ready, we can go."

Everyone climbed out, one by one. Yoder was the last to go. Grant offered him his hand and he took it. He gave Grant a little nod of thanks.

"What do we do now?" Ellie asked.

"Go back to the visitor center?" Edgar suggested. "Call for help?"

"I don't like it. That place is swarming with Troodon. Not to mention, Laura is on the loose," Wu stated.

"Fine. Then where should we go?"

"Why not the security bunker?" Grant suggested, but as soon as he did, Wu's eyes widened with fear.

"Henry? What's wrong?"

Wu took a deep breath, seemed to regain his composure. "Nothing," he murmured. "Never mind."

"Alright then," Edgar said with a suspicious glance at Wu. "If there are no objections… Grant, will you lead the way?"

"I think you better do it," Grant told Harding. "You know the layout of this place a lot better than I do."

Harding nodded. "Okay. Everyone follow me."

* * *

George Lawala once knew and respected a man who was a tracking guide in Africa. That man was named Robert Muldoon. They started out as rivals and they had their disagreements, but when Muldoon was attacked by a lion, Lawala didn't hesitate to rescue him. From that day forward Lawala and Muldoon regarded each other as blood brothers.

Lawala wasn't on Isla Nublar for the money. When the survivors of the Isla Nublar Incident landed in Costa Rica, Robert Muldoon was not with them. Lawala was on Isla Nublar to avenge Muldoon. He didn't need the others. They would only get in the way. And it was better this way. One man versus every damn dinosaur on this island. Lawala wouldn't stop until his revenge was complete. And nothing was going to stand in his way.

Gathering up his weapons, Lawala headed into the jungle ready to face whatever was out there waiting for him…

* * *

Arnold ran, following the children's screams through a network of confusing alleyways. He hoped with all his might that he wouldn't be too late.

He turned a corner. A building loomed up in front of him.

"Dead end," he panted.

Trey and Gutierrez came up behind him.

"Come on. Back this way," Trey said.

Arnold had a feeling they were getting closer as the kids' screams were becoming louder and he could now hear the vicious snarling of a Velociraptor.

Suddenly, several booming gunshots ripped through the air. The kids stopped screaming and the raptor was silent. Either, someone had shot the thing, or she had succeeded in killing Tim and Lex. Arnold sincerely hoped it was the former.

He turned a corner and came face to face with a local man holding a rifle. Tim and Lex were alive and unharmed. On the ground lay the Velociraptor's motionless corpse.

The local man turned to look at the newcomers. "¿Qué es esa cosa?" he said.

"Era sólo un lagarto," Gutierrez answered.

The local man shook his head in disbelief.

"Are you two okay?" Trey asked Hammond's grandkids. Tim nodded, but he was shaking. Lex appeared to be in shock.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," Arnold said. He nodded to the local man. "Thank you for saving them."

Gutierrez translated his words in Spanish. The local man gave a firm nod.

They started heading back to the hotel. Trey picked Lex up and carried her. Gutierrez slowed his pace to match Arnold's limp.

"Your foot okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just landed on it funny."

There was a brief pause. "On the bright side, I think I now know what it was you were doing on that island," Gutierrez said. "My question now is, how did you do it?"

"Ludlow can fill you in on the details, I'm sure," Arnold said not really in the mood to talk.

"So those things escaped and are loose on the mainland." Gutierrez shook his head. "No offense, but you've really screwed things up."

"Hey buddy, I'm just a mechanic. You want someone to yell at, Henry Wu's always available," Arnold said.

"But he isn't here. He went back to that island."

"Yes, he did. So you may not get your chance to yell at him, after all."

They then heard something. A shriek. The men looked up and saw a winged shape blocking out the sun. The shape was joined by several other bat-like creatures that were circling overhead. Arnold recognized them and his eyes widened in fear.

"Everyone get inside," he shouted. "Now!"

* * *

Vargas was looking over the jungle, wondering what else was out there. They were about to pass by the village the survivors were being held in. Vargas then spotted something. Black shapes heading toward them.

Vargas squinted. Were they birds? No… too big.

One of the shapes whistled and dove toward the helicopter. Vargas let out a shout as the dactyls began harassing the helicopter, which Linares was already having trouble flying because of the black spit on the windshield.

* * *

Malcolm had just finished his story when he heard something. It sounded like a helicopter. And there was something else. Whistling.

Kelly and Jess headed toward the window to get a better look. A black shadow headed toward them. Malcolm saw it.

"Jess! Kelly! Get away from the window!"

Too late. Something smashed against the window and the girls screamed, backing away. A dactyl shrieked as it struck the glass, spying the people inside the building. Letting out a cry, it flew back up to join the others in the deadly game they were playing with the helicopter struggling overhead.

"Was that a dinosaur?" Kelly asked, frightened.

"Or a creature similar to one," Malcolm answered, looking at the cracked window. "They must have crossed the ocean…"

* * *

Dozens of the pterosaurs began swooping and circling around the village letting out mournful cries.

The villagers stepped outside, many of them wielding rifles, proceeding to fire upon the humongous pests.

A dactyl dove close to the ground and a second later a woman let out a shriek as she was yanked into the sky.

It was chaos.

* * *

Arnold, Trey, Gutierrez, and the children followed a flock of people into one of the many bars scattered around town.

Arnold stayed by the window, looking up at the dactyls. It was like a scene from a monster movie. Arnold wished that were the case.

There were a few locals in the bar and they were whispering and murmuring together in Spanish. Arnold caught a couple of dirty looks thrown his way. He wasn't sure why, whether it was because of his race or the fact that he was American or something else entirely. He tried his best to ignore them.

"They're asking what those things are," Gutierrez told him.

"Oh," Arnold said. "Tell them they're called pterosaurs."

Gutierrez did so. The locals became even more agitated. "Now they want to know what a pterosaur is," Gutierrez said.

Arnold shook his head. It'd be too difficult to explain.

"They really want to know," Gutierrez pressed. Indeed, it seemed the locals were becoming more and more upset by the minute. They couldn't understand why Arnold would withhold the information from them. But Arnold didn't know how on earth he could make them understand.

Suddenly, two of the biggest men there ran forward and grabbed Arnold roughly, pushing him up against the glass. They began shouting in broken English, right in his face.

"What is? What is?! What is?!"

Gutierrez was there trying to calm them down but nothing he said seemed to work. Eventually, he put a hand on one of the men's shoulders which got him a punch in the jaw.

Then one of the women began talking in a calm voice. Arnold didn't understand what she was saying, but he got the gist of it. Whatever she said seemed to do the trick as the men eventually backed off and Arnold was allowed to help Gutierrez up.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice a bit tremulous.

Gutierrez nodded, his face red. A bruise was forming under his eye. "I think we better get out of here," he said.

* * *

Harding continued to lead the way down the little gravel path toward the security bunker. He couldn't believe it had only been a couple of days since he was last here. What's more, he couldn't believe that he was back.

The bunker came into view through the fog. And it looked just as bad as it did when Harding last saw it. The sides were scuffed up and the bars in the windows were torn through where the raptors had tried to get in.

To the right, there was a shallow pit that had recently been dug up. Upon closer inspection, Harding saw dried blood, scraps of clothing, a few bones, and bits of ragged flesh scattered around the pit.

"What was that for?" Yoder questioned.

"It was a grave," Ellie said. "A grave for one of the men who died here."

"And something dug it up?"

"Yeah."

There was a grim silence.

"Come on," Harding said, wanting to move on.

The door had been broken off its hinges and left lying on the floor. Inside, shelves were knocked over and foodstuffs and weapons were strewn around the place. Pools of dried blood were scattered around the room, but much of it had been licked up by dinosaurs.

"So where's the phone?" Edgar asked.

Harding went to the back and found the telephone where it had been before. He picked it up, but all he heard was static.

"What the heck? I don't understand. I thought we had power."

"What? What's wrong?"

"It's just static. See?"

Grant took the phone from him and put it to his ear.

"Oh, great. Well, what now?"

"I guess we have to go back to the visitor center," Ellie said.

"No. I won't go back there."

"It's okay, Gerry, we'll be fine."

"You don't know that."

"Gerry, it's the only way." That was Edgar, and he sounded exasperated, like he was dealing with a whiny child. "We have to call for help and the visitor center is the only place besides this one that-"

"I am not going back to that place!" Harding screamed. "You don't know what it's like. None of you do except Grant and Ellie and me. To be hunted by those things in the dark. To see those eyes shining at you. Look what it did to me! I'm nuts, man. I'm losing my mind. I can feel it. I can't sleep; whenever I close my eyes I see those eyes! I hear the clicks in my head. No. No. I won't go back. You remember what happened to Muldoon, my friend? He got snatched up by those things. Pulled into a dark room somewhere and got his guts ripped out. They laid EGG in his GUTS!"

Raging, Harding turned his gaze onto Wu and shoved an accusing finger at him.

"Because of YOU! All because of YOU!"

"Gerry, let's go outside for a minute," Grant said.

Harding was trembling. He tried to still the shakes in his arms, but couldn't do it. He followed Grant outside.

"I understand what you're going through," Grant said. "I do. I'm scared as well. And we're doing our best. Doing our best to get out of here. But we need a phone Gerry. We need a phone. Listen to me, Gerry. I'm so sorry about what happened to Muldoon. But I can promise you it won't happen to you, or anyone else. We're going to stay close together and not let anything happen. Okay? Those things only go after people who are by themselves, and we're in a big group, so they'll leave us alone. Got it?"

* * *

Wu was beginning to seriously regret bringing Harding along for this mission. Now both he and Grant had laid the blame for the deaths on him. That wasn't fair; Wu was only partially responsible. If they wanted to point the blame at someone, you need look no further than Hammond. After all, it was his money that bought these creatures. But it wasn't quite as satisfying to blame a dead person.

"We need to keep an eye on that man," Wu told Edgar. "I think he's losing it."

Edgar nodded. "Don't worry. He tries anything, I'll deal with him."

"What do you mean, deal with?"

"I mean whatever is required to ensure that he doesn't pose a danger to the group," Edgar said evasively.

"Alright. Just don't kill him if you can help it."

Grant and Harding walked back in. Harding looked calmer, but it was a far cry from normal.

"If there are no more problems, I think we should move on," Morales said.

With that, everyone let the building.

* * *

Leaving the bar, Arnold, Trey, Gutierrez, and the children managed to make it back to the hospital. Luckily for them, the dactyls were distracted by the struggling helicopter.

"I hate being right all the time," Malcolm said, looking around at his crowded hospital room.

"No you don't," Arnold told him as he paced. "You love the sound of your own voice."

"I can promise you that I'm not enjoying this," Malcolm argued. "Because I recognize the danger that we've all been put in."

"How?" Arnold asked. "How are their dinosaurs on the mainland? How did so many escape the island?"

"Well, you had a way of keeping track of the population, I assume."

"Yes. The motion sensors."

"And the computers took for a number of animals you put into the system?"

"Yes."

"And it only looks for that amount every time? You can put in any number?"

"What's your point?"

"The flaw is that you were always worried about having less animals than you expected, in case some escaped or died. You weren't worried about having more animals, so the computers never counted the extras born in the wild, since it only counted up to the number you previously programmed."

Arnold realized that this was true. But it was still Wu's fault that the dinosaurs had been secretly breeding to begin with.

"Did you have a rodent problem when you came to the island?" Malcolm asked.

Arnold nodded.

"Did the problem go away by itself?"

Arnold nodded again, realizing what Malcolm was implying.

"And you never looked into why?"

"We thought-"

"That's what the carnivores born in the wild ate. They took care of your pest problem. And I'm betting that they migrated to the Costa Rican mainland on supply ships. The small carnivores like the compys or the raptors could stowaway in the cargo hold unnoticed during the voyage."

Arnold remembered the raptors he saw on the beach. He remembered Grant saying that they wanted to migrate. "But how did we never notice what was going on in our own park?"

"Did you ever go into the park yourself, Arnold? No. You ruled from the control room. You people were like the king who never leaves his throne, never learning of the conspiracy going on in his kingdom until it was too late. Your overconfidence in your ability to control these animals was the park's downfall. Nedry only sped up the process."

"So the whole thing was doomed to fail?" Trey asked.

Malcolm nodded. "Hammond's project had all the problems of a major theme park and a major zoo. Then there were problems nobody had even dealt with, since these are creatures with unpredictable behaviors who had no idea what century they were in. You never had control. That was an illusion."

"And what happens now?" Arnold wanted to know.

"The predator population on Isla Nublar rose to unsafe levels," Malcolm explained. "So the animals sought to expand their territories, which is why they came here. Dinosaurs had already had their chance and nature chose them for extinction. But you gave them a second chance and placed them in an ecosystem where they had no natural enemies. They're figuring out their place in the food chain and if left unchecked or unchallenged nothing will stop them from spreading everywhere."

"They could destroy the planet," Arnold realized.

Malcolm shook his head. "No. The planet is not at risk. We are. These creatures came before us. And if we're not careful, they'll be here after us…"

* * *

Linares was trying his best, but there were too many of them. The glass windshield started to shatter and several dactyls got caught in the helicopter's blades. They were going down.

Vargas pulled Linares out of his seat. "We have to jump!"

Before Linares could argue, Vargas leaped out of the helicopter, pulling Linares with him. Behind them, the helicopter struck the village's docks and exploded into a fireball. Vargas and Linares hit the water safely.

* * *

Dodgson's group trudged their way up the steep jungle incline. Dodgson was sweating buckets and he could tell the others were doing just as bad, but he refused to stop for a break, despite multiple requests for one. Dodgson's reasoning was that they were far too exposed out here and needed to find shelter as soon as possible. Surely, the park itself would be safe.

Right now, he kind of wished he had agreed to stay and find Lawala. The man was expertly trained and knew his business, unlike most everyone else in Dodgson's party.

Soon, it became evident that people would start passing out if they didn't stop for a rest. "Fine," Dodgson told them, "but only for ten minutes." But the second Dodgson sat down, he realized that time would have to be extended greatly. After countless minutes of trekking up that hill, blistering his feet, it felt so good to finally sit down and take a breather.

"This might be a good time to take inventory," Sonya said. Dodgson agreed.

In total, they had three packs. King's, Sarah's, and Sonya's. All the others had been lost in the sea. The packs contained the necessities: bottled water, food, first-aid, flashlights, lighters, matches, what have you. King divided the food six equal ways and distributed it to every member of their party.

"We have to ration it," King said when Dodgson looked disdainfully at the pathetically small amount of food he'd been given. "We could be out here a while."

Dodgson wolfed his food down like he'd never eat again, which, he considered, might in fact be the case.

"What do we have in terms of weapons?" Raul asked.

Those who had them laid their weapons out on the ground. Two rifles. Sarah had a machete, but that was it. Two guns and a machete.

It was decided that Sonya and Dodgson would have the guns, Sonya because she was the most experienced, and Dodgson because he insisted on it. He claimed to have lots of experience, but in truth he didn't remember ever firing one in his life. Still, better to go with one than without one.

"I think we better move on now," Sarah said.

Dodgson nodded and made an effort to be the first one to stand, proving to the others that he was a strong and capable leader.

"Alright. Let's go," he said.

They continued making their way through the jungle, ears and eyes alert for anything unusual. They were trespassers, unwelcome on this island. Everyone was paranoid, remembering the tylosaur that had so quickly killed two of their group members and how it had come out of nowhere.

Dodgson froze and rose his hand, signaling the others to stop. "Shh…"

Everybody stopped and they listened. At first, they heard nothing. Then they caught it. The sound of footsteps coming closer.

"Get your gun ready," he whispered to Sonya. She nodded.

Dodgson slowly began moving forward, the others trailing behind. His hands tightened on the gun. They stepped out of the trees and onto a path. Up ahead, figures were materializing out of the fog. People. Armed people.

When the other group saw Dodgson's party, they paused. For a moment nobody did anything. Then a voice broke the silence.

"Sarah?"

"Dad?"

Edgar and the mercenaries pointed their guns at Dodgson and his group.

Sonya raised her rifle as well, finger on the trigger.

"Put it down," Oscar barked.

Sonya ignored him.

"I said put it down!" Oscar roared. He had a very commanding voice.

"I'd suggest doing what he says," Edgar advised. "We can talk this out, but not with guns in our faces."

Slowly, Sonya lowered her rifle.

"Ah, Dr. Dodgson," Henry Wu said, aloof. "I see you managed to sneak your way here. Congratulations, you've been caught red-handed in the act. Seems the game's finally up, eh?"

"Don't be so certain," Dodgson warned in a quiet, threatening voice. "We're not done here yet."

"Oh, I think you are. Edgar - detain them, will you?" Wu said.

Edgar, Yoder and Oscar strode forward and quickly handcuffed Dodgson and his team members except for Sarah.

Harding hugged his oldest daughter and then said "What are you doing here? And what are you doing with them?"

"They lied and told me they were part of a research team. I went along, but I had no idea what was really going on here," Sarah told him.

"I'm just glad you made it this far," Harding said.

Then his eyes fell on Atlanta.

"You brought HER?"

"She snuck on board," Sarah explained.

"Why?" Harding asked.

"Because, I want to know what happened to my mother," Atlanta told him. "What REALLY happened."

"I'll tell you everything once we get off this island," Harding promised her.

"We can't leave yet," Henry Wu interjected. "What about my research?"

"Forget your stupid research. We have to get out of here while we still can."

"I'm not leaving here without it."

"Then where is it?" Sarah asked.

"I lost it while running away from a T-Rex," Wu admitted. "It's in the jungle somewhere, in a knapsack."

Billy Yoder stepped forward. "That's all well and good, but I don't think it's such a good idea to stand out here in the open like this. Finish your conversation inside, alright?"

"Very well," Edgar said. He jostled Dodgson forward. "Move it, and don't try anything funny. I've got my eye on you."

"And your hand as well," Dodgson jibbed.

Edgar cuffed him.

Then… the ground shook and the survivors felt a familiar vibration. Thoom.

"What was that?" Sarah asked, looking around. She saw her father's eyes widened in fear.

"It's the Rex," Harding told her.

"The WHAT?!" Sarah said in disbelief. He had to be joking.

He wasn't. Her fears were confirmed when he heard a terrifying roar not too far from where she stood.

Another vibration. This one closer. Thoom.

"Oh no…" Sarah realized.

They were in the territory of the island's super predator. And she was coming for them.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Edgar said.

They hurried as fast as they could to the visitor center. Grant pushed open the big front doors. Inside, the place was a wreck, but at least it had light. No need to worry about Troodon in this place.

"Are we safe in here?" Raul asked.

"I wouldn't count on it," Edgar told him. "We had a run-in with the princess earlier. She had no troubles breaking her way in here."

"Then let's move on," Sarah suggested.

Harding hung back. "Not a good idea to go too far in," he said. "That's where THEY are."

Edgar frowned at him. "I don't see we have much of a choice. Don't worry; we'll stick together."

The mercenaries, shepherding Dodgson's cronies, led the way deeper and deeper into the complex.

"I think we should go to the control room," Grant said.

"No. It's not safe there. The Troodon have already gotten in there twice," Ellie told him.

"Ah, but that was when it was dark. Now we have light!" Wu reminded her.

"We can't go in there. That's where Muldoon is," Harding murmured.

Edgar sighed heavily. "Can you just make up your minds?"

"Fine. Listen: we're going to the control room. Anyone who doesn't agree can stay here." Wu said, and began promptly striding down the hall.

After a moment the others followed.

Wu opened the door that led to the control room and everyone went inside. Except for Harding. He lingered at the door, looking at the ground. Sarah looked back at him.

"What's wrong?"

Harding couldn't find the words. "Just look," he said.

Sarah looked. While everyone was getting settled in, no-one seemed to acknowledge the pile of ferns and leaves and straw in the far corner. Sarah hesitantly approached it. She gasped. There was a man in there. He was dead.

"What happened to him?" Sarah whispered, horrified.

"The Troodon got him," Grant said grimly. "And laid eggs in his stomach."

"WHAT?"

"That's what they do. They're like those spider wasps that lay eggs in their victims, so that when the eggs hatch-"

"I get it!"

Someone whimpered. It was Dodgson. All the color had drained from his face.

"And those things are in this building?!" he shrieked.

Wu nodded aloofly. "That's right. So why don't you zip it before you draw them right to us?"

"Where's the phone?" Edgar said, his voice tense. Clearly, he'd been put off by the grim realization. "Let's just make the call and get the heck out of here."

Wu found one sitting on the desk and picked it up. He put it to his ear. "It's working." He handed it off to Edgar.

Edgar got in touch with the military and requested an evac team come in. There was nothing for the others to do but wait.

"Do you think the T-Rex followed us here?" Oscar asked Grant.

"I don't know. She has a remarkable sense of smell. I'd say, more than likely," Grant told him.

Edgar hung up the phone. "They're on their way. But it's going to be a few hours at best."

"Okay. What do we do in the meantime?"

"Lay low I guess. Try not to get eaten." Edgar shot a glance at Muldoon's corpse.

"This is good." Startled, everyone looked at the person who had said those words: Wu.

"I mean… it's good that we have some time to get my research," Wu explained hastily.

"You're still worried about that?" Yoder asked.

"Of course I am. Don't want it falling into the wrong hands." He shot Dodgson a look. Dodgson just smiled.

"But you lost your research. It's out there in the jungle somewhere," Edgar reminded him.

"Yes. We have to go find it."

Edgar smiled mockingly. "You're on your own then."

Wu put his hands on his hips like a pouty child. "That's the whole reason we came, isn't it?"

"Yes, and we lost a man in the process."

"That's irrelevant. I'm sorry for your loss, yes, but the mission is still the same."

"No it's not. We have no idea what we're up against."

Wu wasn't done yet though. "It's too valuable to leave behind!"

"More valuable than human life?" Edgar asked.

Wu hesitated. "Of course… not. Of course not. But-"

"But nothing. Forget the research. The mission now is to just get off this island alive. None of us is going anywhere," Edgar said.

And just like that, the lights flickered and went out.

* * *

In the maintenance shed, Laura Sorkin smiled as she smashed the power grid to smithereens with a sledge hammer. A good job the sledge hammer had been there; otherwise, she didn't know what she would have done.

Sparks flew off the grid as she brought the hammer down again and again until it was reduced to nothing but rubble. Panting, she threw the hammer aside and stepped back to admire her handiwork. Was this a good idea? Probably not. One thing it would do, though, is buy her more time to figure out a way to ruin Henry Wu's carrier. Wu and his group would be too terrified to leave the visitor center now. That gave Sorkin time to work out her next move.

Vargas helped Linares into the local hospital, supporting the wounded pilot with his body.

* * *

"I need a doctor!" he shouted to the staff. A woman rushed forward. Vargas recognized that she was American, not a local Costa Rican.

"I'm Dr. Carter," the woman introduced. "What do you need?"

"What does it look like, Doc? My friend got attacked outside. He's injured!"

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine," Vargas insisted. "Just focus on helping my friend."

Vargas then remembered something. "Wait… does this place have a phone?"

Dr. Carter nodded and told him where. Vargas rushed to the phone and tried calling Ludlow. He was disappointed.

"What the hell?" he swore. "The phones are out! They won't work!"

The hospital lights flickered and went out. Vargas heard patients and staff cried out in surprise. The village's power grid was down. They were cut off from the rest of the world. No communication. No electricity.

* * *

Malcolm blinked in surprise as the lights in his room went out.

"What's going on?" he heard Kelly ask.

"Just a minute," Jess said. She walked to the door and opened it. "Lights are out here, too."

"They're out all over the building," Malcolm sighed. "We best prepare for the worst."

"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.

"I mean someone better lock the doors and seal the windows while they still can."

He heard footsteps running out. "Who was that?"

"I think it was Jess," Kelly told him.

"Where's she going?"

"To help, I guess."

Malcolm reached out to his daughter. "Come here."

She came and sat next to him.

"Whatever happens, I'll watch over you," he promised.

* * *

Arnold felt himself being jostled around in the darkness by both patients and staff as they ran this way and that.

One panicked individual knocked him so hard that he fell down. His glasses flew off his face. He felt along the floor for them. Someone stepped on his hand. Someone else kneed him in the face. Forget the glasses, he told himself and stood up. Not like glasses would be much use in this situation anyway.

Suddenly, a beam of light cut through the darkness. A flashlight. Arnold made his way towards it, disoriented now without his glasses. A maid was directing people to a safe room. Arnold followed with them, wondering where the kids and Trey and Gutierrez had gone. Surely, they'd make their way here as soon as they could.

* * *

Trey turned on his flashlight and shone it around. "Where's Arnold?"

Gutierrez looked around. "He must have gotten pulled into the crowd," he said.

Trey looked at Tim and Lex. "We better get them someplace safe."

"Agreed," Gutierrez nodded. "Go with the crowd. I think they're being led to a safe room."

"Where are you going?" Tim asked.

"To help fortify this place," Gutierrez said.

* * *

In the dark control room everybody had fallen silent. Nobody moved. Just listened. Then they heard it. The sound many of them feared. A clicking sound. Followed by many others. Getting nearer.

* * *

On both Isla Nublar and Costa Rica, the sun was starting to set. It was the end of a long day. And the beginning of a long night…

For the Troodon it was time to hunt.

* * *

**Yeah, and this is where things get dark. The "long night" where the Troodon are on the hunt. One of the first ideas I had for this sequel was following up on the reveal in The Isla Nublar Incident that Troodon had migrated to the mainland. I wanted to explore the horrifying implications and consequences of this. Of course, they aren't the only ones on the mainland. The Chaos Continues is one big reference to early mainland plots: the compys from the novel, the raptors and the dilos from the comics...**

**And yeah, Malcolm quoted Fallen Kingdom. This was originally written around the time that Fallen Kingdom came out and it had a bigger influence later on in the story. And for the record, I loved Fallen Kingdom.**

**Anyway, I'll see you all next time! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	4. Fourth Iteration

**I'm back! Just a warning, this is where things get really dark. In other news, I find it amusing that the in-universe 30th anniversary of when the Isla Nublar Incident occurred, June 11th, was a few days ago. Also, thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciate them and always look forward to getting them. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

* * *

**Fourth Iteration**

"_Inevitably, underlying instabilities begin to appear."_

-IAN MALCOLM

There was a shuffling sound as if someone were scuffling around in the darkness. Then, Grant was knocked to the ground as someone ran past him. "Stop them!" Edgar cried out. But before anything could be done, Dodgson and King had escaped.

Yoder pulled out a flashlight and shone it around. "Those suckers," he said.

"Quick!" Edgar said, running forward. "We can still catch them. Oscar! Come with me. Yoder, stay here."

Oscar hurried to follow Edgar out while the rest of them watched them go.

"Here." Grant realized Yoder was offering him something: a pistol.

"Take it just in case these guys decide to try something too."

Grant accepted the weapon. "Thanks."

"Try something?" Sonya repeated. "Look at us. We're not going anywhere. Even if we could, I wouldn't go running off into the dark like that."

"You have more sense than I thought," Yoder said admiringly.

Ellie looked to the door. "Do you think Edgar needs help?" she wondered.

"Yeah, I do," Yoder said. "That's why he's got Oscar. That guy's built like a bull and has the attitude of one, too. Don't worry. Whatever happens, Oscar can handle it. Besides, Edgar told us to stay here."

"Yeah, but does he know what he's getting himself into?"

* * *

Edgar thundered down the hallway after Dodgson and King, Oscar right on his heels. The runaways weren't far ahead. Edgar knew they'd catch them. And when they did…

A series of clicks rang through the air. It reminded Edgar of Morse code. But he knew it wasn't Morse code. It was those things - those Troodon - the ones that liked to lay eggs in your stomach. The thought of that gave Edgar pause. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure this was a good idea. What if those things caught them here in the dark?

But he couldn't turn back now. Dodgson was too valuable a prisoner. Not to mention, he couldn't be seen retreating in front of Oscar Morales.

Edgar turned a corner and found himself standing in the main lobby once more, only this time it was much darker. Not pitch-black though. Evening sunlight was allowed to come in through the windows, as well as the big, cavernous hole in the wall that the T-Rex had made.

"Where'd those suckers go?" Edgar wondered. He could no longer hear their footsteps.

"They're hiding," Oscar said, his voice deadly.

More clicks rang through the ominous silence.

"I'm not sure about this," Edgar told Oscar. "Maybe we should go back. Regroup. Assess the situation."

But Oscar wouldn't be convinced so easily. He stalked forward, his shoulders hunched and his eyes fixed on the floor, as if he could see footprints in the smooth marble.

"Morales…"

Oscar put a finger in the air, silencing him. He brought his rifle to his shoulder in a single deft movement. A second later he fired, the sound deafeningly loud in Edgar's ears. Oscar let off a short burst and then stopped.

"What'd you see?" Edgar asked.

"Something. Something there in the shadows. Thought it was a dinosaur."

More clicks. Louder this time. Seemed to be coming from all around.

"Let's get out of here!" Edgar said, almost begging.

Oscar walked back - walked! - like there was nothing the matter. Then both he and Edgar turned and headed back the way they had come.

"Too bad about the prisoners," Edgar said, forcing himself to remain cool, to match Oscar's steady, determined pace.

"We'll find them," Oscar vowed.

"It's a big island…"

"Don't forget, Dodgson is after Wu's research."

"Yeah. So?"

"You accidentally let slip that Wu lost his research in the jungle."

"What? I did not."

"Yes you did. No matter though. It'd be nigh on impossible for Dodgson to find that bag."

Edgar thought of something. "Actually, maybe not."

"What do you mean?"

"They might get some unexpected help."

"From who?"

"There's this woman. Laura Sorkin. She's Wu's arch-nemesis or something. Incidentally, she's after the same thing as Dodgson. The research, and ruining Wu's livelihood."

"I see. Well, let's hope she doesn't find them."

Edgar screamed as something leaped onto him. His gun was knocked aside and all he could focus on was his attacker's eyes, which glowed in the dark like headlights. The creature hissed.

"Get the hell off him you damn lizard!" Oscar shouted. The creature was too close to Edgar and it was too dark to use his gun, so Oscar pulled out his knife and swung. The blade struck the side of the dinosaur's face, leaving a scar. The wounded animal, a Troodon alpha male bigger than the others in his pack, abandoned his prey and fled back into the shadows.

"Are you okay?" Oscar asked as he helped a relieved Edgar up. Edgar nodded, visibly shaking. He retrieved his gun.

"Thanks," he said, still trying to catch his break.

Oscar shrugged. "No problem. Let's go before that guy returns with his buddies."

* * *

Lewis Dodgson and Howard King were surprised to find a woman waiting for them, sitting in a jeep with a gun at her side. Dodgson didn't recognize the woman, but she recognized him.

"Lewis Dodgson," she nodded. "I'm Dr. Laura Sorkin. I have a proposition for you. Come with me if you want to live."

Exchanging a glance with King, Dodgson decided to do as the woman asked. As he and King climbed into the jeep, the tyrannosaur roared in the distance.

"Where are we going?" King asked as Sorkin started the jeep's engine.

"Somewhere safe," the woman replied. "Somewhere we can talk."

* * *

Edgar and Oscar made their way back to the rest of the group.

Everyone looked at them expectantly, as if to ask, well?

"They got away," Oscar said.

Yoder looked disappointed. "How on Earth?"

"It was dark," Oscar explained. "Too dangerous to continue."

He was interrupted by a series of shrill clicks echoing through the long corridors.

"Come on then," Edgar said, feeling the panic. "We should get out of here. The military will meet us on the beach. Let's go."

"But wait!" Wu protested. "My research. Dodgson, if he's alive, will undoubtedly be looking for it. If he finds it, it's all over."

"Forget the research," Edgar snapped. "Doesn't your life matter more to you than your stupid research?"

"How many more lives will be lost as a result if Dodgson gets his hands on it?" Wu countered.

"We don't have time to debate," Grant warned.

But Wu wasn't backing down. "You have a mission, Edgar. You came here with a task. If you don't see it through, if your superiors, Ludlow, find out that you abandoned the mission because you were afraid… what do you think is going to happen to you? You'll be fired at best. And worst…"

"My job? My job isn't going to matter jack squat if I die," Edgar seethed. He looked around at the rest of the group. "Come on. Do you want to live? Or do you want to spend the next few hours combing the woods for a knapsack?"

Grant cleared his throat. "I hate to agree with Dr. Wu, but now that we're here, we might as well retrieve the research. Otherwise, D-Caf's death would have been in vain."

That hit hard; Grant could see it on Edgar's face. The man frowned, his face like a storm cloud. Then he turned to Oscar and Yoder. "What do you two think?"

The men glanced at each other. Then Yoder shrugged. "I'm with you, whatever you decide to do."

Oscar nodded. "That makes two of us."

Edgar contemplated this for several moments, then threw his hands into the air: "Fine. Let's find the dumb knapsack."

Everyone got ready to go. Yoder and Morales jostled the prisoners, Raul and Sonya, to the door. "Hey Oscar," Yoder said, "if we run into trouble, these guys could make some good bait." Obviously he was joking… or at least, Edgar thought he was.

Everyone started walking down the hallway. "We should get a car," Wu suggested.

"Okay. But it'll be pitch black in the garage," Grant reminded him.

"That's fine. We have flashlights."

"That didn't stop them before," Ellie said.

"We'll just have to hope for the best, then."

* * *

"So what's your proposition?" Dodgson asked Sorkin.

Sorkin glanced at him. "I've heard a lot about you, Dr. Dodgson. Your methods for success are… unorthodox. Actually, let's be honest: you're a liar and a thief, and I hate that I'm even suggesting we work together, but I think that in the long run, it will be worth it for both of us."

"Just tell me your plan," Dodgson insisted.

"We find Wu's research. We get off this island. We go back to the mainland, and we show the world what kind of a man Henry Wu really is. Before meeting you, I had no idea how I was going to pull it off on my own. But you''e an influential man, aren't you, Lewis? You can help me. And if you do, you can keep the research."

"I can do all that without you, though," Dodgson said.

"Ah, yes you could. But I reckon your chances of making it off this island are close to nil without someone to guide you."

"You'd be surprised," Dodgson said. "This isn't the worst scrape I've gotten myself into. Right, Howard?"

"I'm sure it's not. But there's one last thing. If you don't help me, I can guarantee you won't be making it off this island alive."

She casually aimed her gun at him.

Dodgson looked from the gun to her face and back again. And then he smiled.

"Ms. Sorkin, I believe we have a deal."

* * *

Linares' injuries had been treated and he was now laying back in a hospital bed. For now he was alone in his room. The lights had gone out and Linares had heard people shouting in the hallways, but now things were quiet as the last light went away outside.

Then Linares heard something. The door handle to his room moving. The door being pushed open. Something stepping inside his room. It was dark, but Linares could make out a pair of eyes looking at him. The animal made a clicking sound and several other pairs of eyes appeared, entering the room.

Linares panicked and looked around for anything that he could use as a weapon. Nothing.

The creatures got closer.

"Help!" Linares screamed. "Vargas! Anybody! Help!"

Linares heard no reply. Only clicking. Linares began to get up, but fell back into his bed. It was too painful to move.

Linares prayed for somebody to come for him, but it was too late.

Linares began to scream as the Troodon leaped onto his bed and jaws closed around his skull. The other Troodon joined in until Linares' screams died out.

Linares would be the first casualty of the night. But he wouldn't be the last.

* * *

Gutierrez had heard the screams and had dropped what he was doing - helping board up the windows - and ran down the hallway toward the source of the cries. When he got within a few feet of the room where he thought the screams were coming from, he stopped and listened. The screams had stopped, and in their place, only the crunching and snapping of bones. Whoever that had been, it was too late to save them.

Gutierrez's first instinct was to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction. But he knew he had a chance to prevent more lives from being lost.

Cautiously and quietly, he pushed the door open a couple of centimeters. Then he reached his hand inside and felt for the knob. He found it. He felt for the lock. Found that as well. He turned the lock. It clicked. He paused for a moment to listen if the sound had attracted whatever-was-in-there's attention. Not so. Just the sickening snapping of bones. Gutierrez began to draw his hand out-

And that was when the jaws closed around his fingers.

* * *

The Troodon pack dashed down the hallways, their keen eyesight illuminating everything. Nothing was beyond their sight; nothing was safe. The delicious two-legged animals ran from them in terror. It was as if the Troodon pack was savoring their prey's fear.

The lead Troodon jumped and brought down a man and quickly broke his neck. Several people ran away in fear. While the lead Troodon enjoyed his meal, the rest of his pack members carried on the chase.

No, there was nothing that could stop them.

* * *

Inside the safe room, Tim covered his ears against the horrible sound of people screaming for their lives. Beside him, Lex was letting out choked sobs. Trey huddled them protectively.

There was a frantic pounding on the door. The doctor in charge opened it and two more people came inside. The doctor quickly closed and locked the door again. He was speaking in soft Spanish. Trey couldn't understand what he was saying, but from the gentle calmness in his voice, he could tell he was trying to comfort them.

There was a brief silence in the carnage, and for a moment Trey almost thought maybe it was all over. But then another scream cut the fragile silence; and the voice, Trey realized, belonged to Gutierrez.

* * *

Vargas heard the screams and was rushing to help… when something bit down on his arm.

Vargas screamed in pain and saw that a creature with glowing eyes was attacking him. Vargas punched one of the creature's eyes and the thing released him, fleeing into the darkness.

Vargas clutched his arm, checking the wound. The bite had definitely broken through his skin. Luckily, he was in a hospital, so he could probably get it taken care of in no time at-

Vargas fell on his knees, clutching his head. It hurt. His vision blurred, he found it difficult to think or focus. He began to hallucinate…

* * *

The group entered the garage, but found only disappointment.

All the cars had holes in their tires and the air had left them.

"Laura," Wu realized at once. "This is her doing."

"She must really hate you," Yoder commented, looking at the damage.

Wu shook his head. "You have no idea…"

* * *

Malcolm hugged his shaking daughter tightly.

"What's going on out there?" Kelly asked, terrified.

"We're safe in here," Malcolm promised. "They can't get in here." He didn't believe that for a moment, but he was trying to comfort her.

"I shouldn't have come," Kelly whimpered. "God, I was so stupid. I should have listened to you. I should have stayed with Karen."

"We're going to be alright. I won't let anything happen to you." That was honest. Malcolm wasn't going to let anything happen to his Kelly and would protect her with his final breath. He was also worried about Jess and hoped that she was safe, though it was unlikely. They were all in great danger.

Besides the screams, Malcolm heard something else. Violent gunfire. And somebody yelling insanely.

* * *

Sorkin's jeep pulled up in front of the forest.

"Let's go," she told the two men with her.

King got out, but Dodgson stayed where he was.

"We're looking for a knapsack in all that?" he asked.

Sorkin tottered her gun. "Yes, that's exactly what we're doing."

Dodgson shook his head. "We'll never find it in there."

"We're going to try." Sorkin motioned for him to get out of the jeep.

But Dodgson wasn't budging. "Not to mention it's getting late. I don't like the idea of crawling around there in the dead of-"

"You have one of two choices Dr. Dodgson," Sorkin interrupted. "A, you come with me and find the sack. Or B, I shoot you and leave you for the Troodon to find."

Dodgson's eyes widened for just a moment, then he regained composure. "Fine," he snarled, climbing out of the jeep.

"Now," Sorkin continued brusquely, "let's begin. Here, take a flashlight."

She handed both men a flashlight each, and flares.

"The dinosaurs are scared of fire," she told them.

"Good to know," King said.

Sorkin, King and Dodgson entered the jungle.

* * *

Jess turned around a corner and saw several Troodon eating something. No, eating someone. She felt her blood freeze as the Troodon noticed her and turned their eyes on her. God, they were creepy.

Jess opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Snapping to her senses, she turned around and ran. She didn't look back, but she heard clicking sounds as the Troodon chased after her.

Up ahead, she saw a figure in the dark. A man.

"Jess, get behind me."

Something lit up the darkness. A flare. The man's features were clearer and Jess recognized him. Ray Arnold.

Standing behind him, Jess saw the pursuing Troodon halt, backing away from the flare. Hissing, they came no closer.

"The flare!" Jess realized. "They can't stand the flare!"

Arnold nodded and handed Jess another flare. He was carrying several of them.

* * *

Bobbie Carter was with the patient who had been bitten earlier that day by a Troodon. The man was in a deep slumber and had no idea of the nightmare that was taking over the hospital.

While everyone had rushed to a safe room, Bobbie refused to leave her patient behind. Her paramedic Manuel had stayed with her. They listened to the distant screams and clicks. Both of them had guns, but Bobbie had never fired one before. Neither had Manuel, so Bobbie wasn't confident in their abilities to fight off the Troodon.

The clicking sounded like it was getting closer. Bobbie's grip tightened as she watched the door. She was sweating nervously.

Something was scratching on the door. But Bobbie did nothing. She just waited.

* * *

Gutierrez struggled against the strength of the unseen predator latched onto his hand. The pain was excruciating, but the pure will to live lent a strength to Gutierrez that he wouldn't have possessed under normal circumstances. He pulled with all his might, until eventually the Troodon released his hand, taking a layer of skin with it. Gutierrez fell backward, clutching his wrist, screaming. The door swung open, banging into his knee. He kicked it back and pushed with all his might against it, trying to keep the monsters in. It was hopeless. Now two of the creatures were throwing themselves at the door. Their combined strength was just too much for Gutierrez. He braced himself for the end.

Suddenly, footsteps. Gutierrez turned. A man was running toward him, followed by a shorter person. The first person was carrying a flare. He tossed the flare at Gutierrez, shouting - what was he saying? Gutierrez's name? He didn't know. All he knew was that the man was trying to help him. Gutierrez grabbed the flare and clutched it tightly. One of the Troodon was sticking its snout through the door crack. Gutierrez jabbed it with the flare. The monster hissed and recoiled, allowing Gutierrez to shut the door, locking them in.

His vision failing, Gutierrez collapsed on the floor, panting breathlessly. The man who had thrown him the flare was by his side, along with the girl. Gutierrez realized who they were, and he allowed himself to be carried away by them as he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, a scared group of people huddled in a darkened garage.

"There's only once choice now," Wu was saying.

"Yeah. We get ourselves the heck to the beach," Edgar interjected.

Wu shook his head. "No, we must find the bag."

"But it's getting dark out!" Edgar pointed out the window. The sun was setting, casting brilliant orange light on the park.

"I see that. But Dodgson is already probably looking for the bag. We can't let him find it."

"Let's wait until tomorrow. When it's light out," Grant suggested.

"But Dodgson will find it before then," Wu said.

"So be it." Grant's face was impassive. "It's not worth risking our lives over."

Wu seemed desperate. "But just think of the destruction he will cause if he gets his hand on my research!"

"Don't worry. We'll find some other way to stop him," Sarah told him.

Wu shook his head. "Dodgson is nothing if not determined. Mark my words, if he escapes with my research, he will wreak havoc on the world."

* * *

Arnold and Jess took Gutierrez to one of the safe rooms where survivors were hiding out, huddled in frightened groups. One of the nurses there, Elena, knew Gutierrez and offered to take care of him. Arnold handed out several flares.

"The creatures can't stand the light," Arnold explained. "Use the flares to hold them back."

The survivors nodded. Jess tugged at Arnold's side.

"We need to find Malcolm and his daughter," she insisted.

"Of course," Arnold promised. "We're not going to leave anyone out there."

* * *

The door to the room slowly opened and a Troodon stood in the door frame. Bobbie froze up, but Manuel took aim and fired. He missed.

The Troodon leaped onto Manuel and Bobbie heard him scream. Another Troodon entered the room and began creeping toward Bobbie. She snapped back to reality and fired, wounding the Troodon. She kept shooting.

She fired upon the Troodon that was attacking Manuel. The bullet penetrated the side of its neck. It hissed and looked up from Manuel, jaws bloodied. Carter fired again, this time the bullet penetrated the monster's skull. It slumped over on top of Manuel.

Carter pushed it off and looked at Manuel. The young man was dead. Carter closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment to grieve. Then she stood up again. She closed the door and pushed a table in front of it. That should hold them - for a while, at least.

* * *

Most of the carnage was taking place far away from Malcolm's room. But then Malcolm heard something. Slow, deliberate footsteps - and sniffing.

Malcolm dared not breath. He held Kelly's hand. She was trembling and bordering on tears. Malcolm squeezed her hand reassuringly.

If we're quiet, it'll pass.

The footsteps got closer and closer. The creature began sniffing under the door. _It knows we're in here,_ Malcolm thought.

* * *

Grant never thought that he would be in his room in the Isla Nublar safari lodge again. But he and the others agreed that it was too dangerous to travel in the dark, so they decided to spend the night in the safari lodge, taking turns keeping watch while the others slept. They weren't completely out of danger, but the safari lodge was probably the safest building on the island right now.

Grant sighed and fell onto his bed, exhausted. He heard the door to his room open and he looked up to see Ellie walk in.

"It's not safe to be alone," Ellie told Grant. "Edgar is having everyone share rooms."

"I'm not complaining," Grant shrugged. "I'm just glad we could have a few hours without something trying to eat us."

Ellie climbed into bed with Grant and snuggled up close to him. "Whatever happens, I'm just glad we're together this time."

"And at least Tim, Lex, Malcolm, and the others are safe on the mainland," Grant added. "They're much better off than we are."

"After this I don't think I'll ever look at fossils the same way again."

"Well, when something tries to kill you it changes the way you see it."

"What if the dinosaurs get off the island?"

"I don't know," Grant said honestly. "Dinosaurs and man. Two species separated by millions of evolution. How can we possibly have any idea what to expect?"

Ellie kissed Grant. "We'll find a way. We always do."

"Good night, Ellie."

"Good night, Alan."

The two slept, hoping for pleasant dreams instead of nightmares.

* * *

"You shouldn't have come here," Harding said to Atlanta as the girl climbed into her bed.

"You can't make my decisions for me," Atlanta replied, trying to get comfortable. "I'm not your responsibility. You don't know me and I don't know you. Why do you even care?"

Harding sighed. "I don't want you to be alone. I know that you're hurting and I want to help."

"I don't want your help. My mom wanted to help me and it got her killed."

"I'm sorry that she's died. But she saved the lives of many people. Including me and my daughter."

"Can you please tell me the truth? What really happened?"

Harding sighed and knew he couldn't keep it from her any longer, so he told her everything.

* * *

Sonya and Raul were being detained in one of the bedrooms. Yoder came in.

"How are you two holding up?"

Sonya and Raul stayed silent.

"Are you thirsty? I got some water from the kitchens."

"Why bother?" Sonya asked.

"I got nothing against you two," Yoder said honestly. "I work for InGen, but I don't care about the corporate drama. I have a feeling you don't care about the rivalry between our employers either. You just wanted to get paid."

"I just wanted to see them," Raul mentioned. "The dinosaurs. All my life I wondered what they were really like. I jumped at the opportunity many would kill to get."

"You're right about me though," Sonya told Billy. "I don't give a damn about Dodgson. Especially now that he left me and Raul behind to save his own skin."

"You're smart," Yoder nodded, handing her some water. "Here. I hope this encourages you to behave yourself. Because we might be your only way off the island."

Sonya took a sip. "Thanks. I guess we're in this together, huh?"

"You can probably cut a deal with InGen to rat out Biosyn," Yoder shrugged. "Help them take down Dodgson."

Raul took his water from Yoder. "Best offer I heard all day," he smiled.

* * *

Dodgson slapped another mosquito on his arm. "This is stupid!" he told Sorkin. "We'll never find the stupid bag."

"Keep looking. I haven't come this far to give up now," Sorkin replied.

"Come on. Be reasonable. It's pitch black, and we're being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Let's go back and give this another crack in the morning," King said, using his come, let-us-be-reasonable voice.

But Sorkin stood her ground. "I said no! If we wait until morning, Wu and his companions will be out here. They'll find the bag before we do, and then all of this will have been for nothing."

"At this point, I'm starting to not care," Dodgson said.

"One more word of complaint and I'll shoot you here and now!" Sorkin barked.

Dodgson looked over at King. The man was covered in bug bites. He looked miserable. Dodgson assumed he looked just as bad. Not that he cared about the way he looked at this point.

Dodgson caught King's eye again, and with a quick movement, gestured to Sorkin. King studied him for a moment, his dark eyes gleaming, then gave a firm, rigid nod.

Quietly, King positioned himself behind Sorkin. Dodgson felt a shrill of excitement pass through him.

He pretended to find something: "Hey, look! Is this it?"

Sorkin came up behind him, close. Too close. Dodgson swung his arm around, feeling a surge of satisfaction as his elbow connected with Sorkin's cheekbone. A moment later King tackled her to the ground. The two of them began to fight over the gun. Dodgson held back, confident that King would win this fight.

But to his surprise, Sorkin proved herself to be a determined fighter. She scratched and bit and did whatever she could to get the upper hand - even biting King on the ear. Dodgson realized he had to get involved, but it was too late he realized. Sorkin had the gun pointed right at King's stomach. Dodgson darted forward, thinking, maybe I can grab it in time-

No, he couldn't. With a blast, the gun went off. King let out a weak scream. Sorkin began to point her gun at Dodgson-

Dodgson reacted on instinct. His hand flew out and swatted the gun away. He ran for it and picked it up, but as he was turning around to shoot Sorkin, the woman was fleeing into the trees.

Dodgson fired several times in rapid succession, missing every shot. He cursed himself for not taking shooting lessons.

No matter. She can't get far on her own.

Dodgson turned his attention to King, who was now writhing, holding his stomach as a pool of blood leached into the soft leaves beneath him. Dodgson got down on his knees and pressed his hands against King's stomach, instantly bloodying them. He looked around for something he could use as a compress. There was nothing.

"Come on Howard, let's get back to the car," he said. He tried to lift King up, but it was useless; King was in no shape to do anything but scream and moan.

"Howard, you have to work with me here!"

Dodgson contemplated leaving him. Why not? Certainly, he wasn't above doing something like that. But for some reason he found he couldn't. Couldn't just leave King here to bleed out. He couldn't explain why… perhaps the last several months of working closely beside him had forged something of a friendship between them. But Dodgson wasn't the type to make friends…

Whatever the reason, Dodgson couldn't abandon King there. Rolling the man over, he peeled off his shirt and tied it around his wound. It was poor craftsmanship, but it would do for now. Then he put King's arm around his neck and pulled him up. King was a bigger man than he, but Dodgson found the strength somewhere to lift him. Then they began the slow, arduous process of stumbling through the dark forest back to the jeep.

Dodgson lifted King onto the jeep. He knew that they had to get somewhere safe for the night, if there was anywhere safe on the island from its previously prehistoric inhabitants.

To his surprise, Dodgson noticed that Sorkin had left something behind in the jeep. A bag. Dodgson opened it and found eggs. An unexpected development. But not an unpleasant one. Perhaps all this wouldn't be for nothing after all.

There were no keys in the ignition. Sorkin must have them with her, Dodgson realized.

Luckily, Dodgson knew from previous experience how to hot-wire a jeep. A few minutes later, Dodgson started the jeep and he glanced back at the wounded King before focusing on what was ahead. Hopefully, sanctuary.

* * *

Sorkin stumbled through the jungle. Dammit. She shouldn't have given Dodgson and King a chance. She should have killed them when she had the chance.

She tripped and fell forward, swearing. Then she realized what she had tripped on… the bag she had risked everything for.

Sorkin quickly checked the contents. Yes. Everything she needed was here. Perhaps her luck was about to change and things would go her way after all…

* * *

Dodgson turned on the headlights, illuminating his immediate surroundings. In the artificial yellow glare, he was able to make out a sign. It said East Dock.

Dodgson smiled. This was good. He and King could go to the dock, find a boat, and get the heck out of here. But that would mean abandoning Wu's research - the thing he had sought after for so long. Could he do it? Just turn around and leave it all behind?

For a moment he was locked in indecision, sitting in the jeep, staring at a fixed point in the distance.

Then he thought, screw it. Granted, Dodgson might be a bit more reckless and dangerous than your average man, but even he knew when to give up. When to accept defeat. Still, the thought of giving up now when his goal was right in front of him made his stomach turn. He had to force himself to drive down the little dirt road that would take him to the East Dock. Even then, he almost turned back several times. It was hard - extremely hard - to just give up after everything that had happened, but he knew it was the right decision.

For himself… and for King as well.

Besides - this wasn't the end. Dodgson would find a way to get his hands on that research, no matter what. Whatever it took. He'd get it.

But for now, what he wanted was to just go home.

And he would still get something out of this. He still had the eggs Sorkin had in her bag. And it was definitely a start. He didn't know that they were Troodon eggs, but he did know one thing.

Those eggs were going to be the future of his company…

* * *

Sarah passed by Atlanta's bedroom and heard crying. The door was open, so she looked in.

The young girl was crying into her father's shoulder as she hugged him, needing comfort.

When the girl finally let go, Harding noticed Sarah and he stood up.

"I can't believe you never told me," Sarah said. "You got to work with actual dinosaurs."

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Harding explained. "When the park opened, the whole family could be together again and see everything. I guess that'll never happen now."

"Well, I'm totally jealous," Sarah smiled. "And impressed. My dad just got a whole lot cooler."

"So who are you bunking with tonight?"

"Your friend, Henry Wu."

"Be careful. I'm worried about him."

"I'll be fine. Could we step out for a moment?"

Harding looked back at Atlanta. "It'll just be for a minute," he promised the girl. Atlanta nodded, wiping away her tears.

Sarah and Harding stepped into the hallway.

"So what are you going to do with her?" Sarah asked Harding. "Atlanta, I mean."

"I promised to take care of her," Harding told Sarah. "And I'm going to keep my word. Right now she needs me. Maybe I'll take her back to San Diego."

"Are you considering adoption?"

"Possibly," Harding admitted. "But right now we need to focus on getting her off this island alive. Then we can talk about the future."

"If you do go back to San Diego, I want to come with you. It is time to get the family back together. You, me, Jess, Mom…"

Harding smiled. "It'll be just like old times."

Father and daughter hugged. Then Harding went back in Atlanta's room. He shut and locked the door behind him, just in case.

* * *

Edgar couldn't sleep. The events of the day had taken their toll on him. He felt antsy, anxious. Whenever he closed his eyes he thought the could see those pale, glowing eyes staring at him. The stress of it made sleep impossible, which was too bad, because he needed his rest.

Edgar found himself beginning to sympathize more with Harding and the others. At first, he was annoyed with Harding's apparent cowardice, but soon realized that the man's fears were completely justified. If those things could take down Muldoon, what chance did the rest of them have?

But then he reminded himself that they had Oscar Morales, by far the most efficient man in the business, on their side. If Muldoon was the toughest man in the world, Oscar Morales was a close second. The man didn't seem to have any fears. While Edgar was quaking and shaking with fright, Oscar didn't even bat an eye. Edgar felt safer just being in the company of the man.

Then he reminded himself of something. He might not be a Muldoon or an Oscar, but he was still highly skilled. The best in the division. He hadn't gotten this mission by chance; he came highly recommended by his senior officers. No, he wasn't a Muldoon, but he was capable enough to make it through this mission alive.

Somehow reassured, Edgar found himself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**Yeah, when I stared writing this with my friend I knew that at some point there would be an attack on the hospital. It's ironic that the people on the island are right now safer than the people on the mainland, though not for too long...**

**The alpha Troodon that Oscar scars is a reference to the Scarred Raptor Leader that has a grudge against Oscar in "Jurassic Park: The Game." It's another example of how the Troodon have pretty much upstaged the raptors in these stories, even getting their ability to open doors.**

**I also want to talk about Dodgson. In the novels, he's a bastard. This Dodgson is nowhere near as bad as novel Dodgson, who tried to outright murder Sarah Harding while this Dodgson only intended to use her for blackmail. And Dodsgon's friendship with King is a redeeming trait, since he goes out of his way to save him and puts aside his goals for King's sake. I also kinda feel sorry for him because this is the second time he got stranded on Nublar. The guy has the worst luck.**

**Some of my favorite scenes in this are actually with the Harding family. I consider them to be the "heart" of these stories and the storyline with Atlanta is a good example. It was something that I really wanted to develop in The Chaos Continues. Then again, I am just a sucker for themes of family.**

**And I want to bring up something I noticed while editing, it almost seemed like Edgar had a crush on Oscar. I'll leave it up to your interpretation if he actually does though.**

**As always, please leave a review. And I'll see you next time!**


	5. Fifth Iteration

**Welcome back to The Chaos Continues! I saw that ultimate-drax commented that the Troodon are 'scary as shit.' That was the point and I'm glad that it succeeded. But the night isn't over yet...**

* * *

**Fifth Iteration**

"_Flaws in the system will now become severe."_

-IAN MALCOLM

Arnold sat huddled in the dim light of the safe room, trying to control the trembling in his limbs. Around him, people sobbed and murmured desperate prayers. Arnold found himself praying as well, even though he wasn't exactly religious. It was comforting.

Outside, the carnage continued, though things seemed to be dying down at last. Whether the Troodon had killed everyone or the survivors had been able to find shelter, Arnold didn't know. One thing he was sure of though, he was glad the screaming had finally stopped.

Then he heard something that at first scared him, just due to how loud it was, but then filled him with a surge of relief and joy. Gunfire. The authorities were here! The military with their automatics and helicopters - they were here to rescue them!

Someone knocked on the door and the head doctor opened it at once. In the doorway stood a Costa Rican man. He had a dirty tank top on, ripped pants, and a rather large gun in his hand. The man began talking quickly in Spanish, and the head doctor responded in kind.

"What are they saying?" Arnold asked Elena, the midwife who was tending to Guiterrez. "And where's the military?"

"They military aren't here," Elena told him. "But these men from another village have come to provide assistance."

_Well, it was better than nothing_, Arnold thought.

The Costa Rican was still talking. Elena translated: "He is asking if any of us know how to fire a gun."

Arnold did. Muldoon had made every member of the Jurassic Park team take lessons, 'just in case,' even paying for them out of his own pocket. Now, Arnold was eternally glad that he had done so.

Arnold stood up, stood to attention. "I can help," he said.

The Costa Rican - whose name was Eduardo - looked Arnold up and down for a moment, and then shoved a gun into his hands, patting him on the shoulder in the process.

* * *

The hallways were full of bodies and blood stains. Most unusual though, were the bodies with bullet holes in them. The Troodon hadn't killed those people. A man had…

* * *

In the jungles of Isla Nublar, a curious Herrerasaurus investigated a fire that had been lit in a clearing. The Herrerasaurus into the clearing, looking around. The clearing was empty, with nobody in sight.

Wondering who had started the campfire, the Herrerasaurus walked forward to take a closer look. The Herrerasaurus couldn't smell anything. Just smoke.

Blam!

A bullet passed through the dinosaur's head, destroying the brain. The carnivore collapsed, dead. It hadn't stood a chance.

From the tree he was hiding in, George Lawala grinned. Another dino dead. And the corpse would certainly attract scavengers.

He could do this all night.

* * *

"Kelly, get under the bed," Malcolm ordered.

"What?"

"Climb under the bed. And whatever happens, whatever you hear, don't come out."

Kelly nodded fearfully and hid under the hospital bed. Malcolm watched the door.

The creature outside was starting to open the door…

* * *

Arnold heard a man screaming in the distance. But it wasn't the kind of scream someone made before death. It was a tremulous, almost deranged howl. What on Earth was going on over there?

Arnold broke away from the group and headed deeper into the hospital. The screams got louder and clearer, but no less distressing.

"Hello?" Arnold called into the darkness.

A burst of gunfire was his response.

Arnold crept forward, clutching the gun with both hands, finger on the trigger.

"Who's there? We're friendly."

Another burst of gunfire followed by a man's plea: "Get away from me! Get away from me!"

* * *

Eduardo led a group of men and women down a long hallway. They were clearing out the invaders, one room at a time. Eduardo had never seen or imagined anything so terrifying, but he was eager to eliminate them.

Eduardo turned a corner. Two of those devils were scuffling at a door. Eduard raised his gun to his cheek and fired; bullets simmered the hallway, splattering the dinosaur's guts on the slick tile flooring.

The animals dead, Eduardo knocked on the door. "Hola? Anyone in there?"

"Yes," came a man's voice. "Si. Can we come out?"

Eduardo opened the door and shone his flashlight in. A man with dark hair - an American - and a little girl with dark skin. Huddled in the corner, looking frightened.

Eduard waved for them to come out. He told one of his men to accompany them back to the safe room.

"Thank you," the American man said. "Er… Gracias," he corrected himself.

"Gracias," the little girl affirmed.

Eduardo smiled and waved for them to go.

* * *

Dodgson followed the route laid out by the occasional road sign. Remembering his previous time on the island, Dodgson had a feeling they were almost there. Soon he and King would be out of here, and not soon enough.

Still, a shame about the research. Wu would probably recover it in the morning. Oh well. Dodgson would find another way to get his hands on it. Persistence was the key to success, that was what he said.

Sure enough, after a few minutes more, the docks came into sight. And there was the boathouse! Hopefully, if they were lucky, there would be a boat in there. If not… Dodgson wasn't sure what he'd do then. King didn't have that much time left. If there was no boat, Dodgson would have to leave his assistant behind. He didn't like the thought.

Dodgson stopped in front of the boathouse and climbed out. He tried the door: it was locked. Shoot! Dodgson went back to the jeep to see if there was anything he could use to break the lock. He found a sledgehammer in the back seat. What was that doing there? Never mind; it was good luck it had been there. Dodgson took the sledgehammer and went back to the door. He brought the hammer down on the lock, missing the first time, succeeding the second time. The lock shattered. Dodgson pulled it out and discarded it. He opened the door and peered inside. His hand automatically went to the light switch, even though he knew full well that Sorkin had destroyed the generator. He peered into the darkness and thought he could make out the shape of a boat. He took a step forward and his hands fell on the smooth surface of the vessel. Dodgson smiled. They were in business.

* * *

Arnold sought cover as the unknown man shot at him.

"Where are you hiding, in the trees?" the man asked, his voice panicked.

The man shot at Arnold again, but missed.

Then Arnold heard something hit the ground near him. Before he could react, there was a bright light that blinded him. Flash grenade.

* * *

"Do you hear anything?" Trey asked Tim. The kid shook his head.

Everyone in the room had fallen silent, holding their breath and trying to control their frightened shaking.

There was the occasional distant burst of gunfire, but beside that things seemed to be quieting down.

Then Trey heard something and he looked around to see the cover of an air vent fall off. Inside the vent Trey saw a familiar pair of eyes.

The Troodon hissed and leaped out of the vent. Lex screamed and soon everyone else was screaming too.

* * *

On Isla Nublar, the Troodon Alpha Male was following the scent of the human that had struck his eye. The trail lead his pack to the safari lodge. They had been in that building not too long ago and had found it empty. But not now.

The Alpha Male called to his packmates. The safari lodge was full of humans once again. They knew a secret way past the fence that surrounded the lodge and into the building from their last visit. They would do the same thing now and take the humans by surprise.

Then the Alpha Male would have his revenge.

* * *

Oscar Morales awoke.

Immediately, he felt a strong feeling of dread. That must have been what woke him. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that something was very wrong here.

How did he know this? Not even Oscar himself could tell you. He had a strange talent for predicting danger ahead of time. Billy called it his sixth sense. Oscar called it observance. Whatever the case, Oscar had long since learned never to ignore this feeling.

There was danger, and it was very close.

Rising from bed, Oscar grabbed his M4 and quickly checked to make sure it was loaded. Then he went to Edgar's bed and shook the man awake.

"What?" Edgar said groggily.

"Trouble," Oscar told him. "Check the others. I'm going to find Billy."

Edgar wasn't accustomed to being given orders by his subordinates, but he had long since come to trust Oscar's instinct. Rising from bed, he popped a new magazine into his gun and went to the door. Peering into the darkened hallway, he first checked to make sure nothing was amiss. Then he tiptoed into the hall and opened one of the doors.

It was Wu and Sarah's room. Both were asleep. "Hey, wake up," Edgar whispered.

Sarah snapped awake instantly and fixed him with a surprisingly alert gaze. "What? What is it?"

"Not sure yet. Oscar has a feeling," Edgar told her, as if no more explanation was needed.

But Sarah seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, as she quickly rose from bed and shook Wu awake.

"Do you have your guns?" Edgar asked.

"Yes," Sarah told him. "Right over…"

She was interrupted by a terrified scream. Edgar's heart dropped into his stomach. He ran down the hall, in the direction of the scream.

"Get back!" he heard someone shout.

It was Harding.

* * *

A pack of Dilophosaurus moved amongst the heavy foliage, eyes and ears alert for the slightest sound, the slightest movement that might indicate the whereabouts of potential prey. Maybe a nice juicy mouse, or a possum out for a late-night stroll…

The leader dilo stopped abruptly to sniff the air; she'd picked up a scent. Hooting softly to her companions, she began to creep silently through the foliage, in the direction of the smell.

The foliage began to thin out. The leader dilo smelled the familiar salty ocean. And something else… heat. Heat produced from a rather sizeable animal…

The dilo paused, and with her night vision eyes, was able to spot the animal. It stood on two legs, and was walking from a large white object to a smaller, red object. The dilo recognized the red object; it was one of those creatures that moved about on the dirt paths. They stunk especially badly. But the animal… the animal she recognized. It was one of those two-legged creatures. The dilo licked her lips. She had eaten one of those before, a night or two ago. Their meat was quite delicious…

Assuming a hunter's crouch, the dilo pack waited a moment to observe and try to conclude if this two-leg would make for a good meal or not.

* * *

Dodgson grabbed King under the arms and pulled him out of the jeep. King let out a sharp gasp of pain. Dodgson gritted his teeth and pulled with all his might; finally, he got King out.

"Come on Howard," he said through gritted teeth. "Work with me here."

He managed to get King on his feet and start walking with him to the boat. It took about seven minutes to go ten feet. By the end Dodgson was sweating and covered in King's blood. No matter, he could wash it off in the seawater.

They were almost there. Dodgson had already gotten the boat out, it was sitting there on the beach, just waiting for them.

Almost there. Almost there.

Then Dodgson heard it. A soft hooting. Coming from the trees.

* * *

Atlanta curled up in a corner, clutching her bleeding arm. One of the Troodon had bitten her. Harding now stood between her and the Troodon intruders, using a chair in an attempt to fend them off. Atlanta's vision was starting to blur. She didn't feel so good…

* * *

Oscar ran to find Billy. He heard a clicking sound behind him. Before he could turn around, the Alpha Male Troodon leaped onto his back, knocking him to the floor and digging his claws into his flesh. Oscar screamed in pain and brought out his knife, but the dinosaur knocked it away. The Troodon had learned from his last encounter with the man. Oscar felt teeth biting down on the back of his neck and he tried desperately to knock the animal off him.

"BILLY!" he screamed, hoping his partner could hear him.

* * *

"BILLY!"

Billy Yoder immediately rose to his feet, gun ready.

"What was that?" Sonya asked him.

"Nothing good," Billy responded, rushing to the door. He opened it and came face to face with a crouching Troodon. The Troodon leaped onto Billy, forcing him onto the ground. Billy screamed, trying desperately to avoid snapping jaws. He must have lost his gun when he was tackled, since he had no idea where it was now.

Then Billy heard a gunshot and the Troodon dropped dead. Looking around, Billy saw that Sonya was out of her handcuffs and holding the gun he had dropped.

"What the hell?" Billy asked. "You mean you could have gotten out of your cuffs the whole time?"

Sonya nodded. "I thought it would be smarter for me to bide my time. You're welcome by the way."

"Could I have my gun back?"

Sonya thought about this for a moment, then tossed the gun to Billy.

"Go save your friend," she told him. "I'll stay here with Raul. Don't worry, I have nowhere else to go."

"Alright, I'll trust you," Billy decided. He ran out.

Billy ran as fast as he could in the direction of Oscar's screams.

He rounded a corner and found his gruff partner pinned under the cruel talons of a Troodon. The beast stopped biting Oscar for a moment to regard Billy.

Billy lifted his gun and proceeded to splatter the creature's guts on the carpet.

He dropped beside Oscar. The man was hurt badly. His neck and back were covered in blood.

"We gotta move Oscar," Billy told him.

Oscar was almost unconscious. Billy had no choice but to drag him down the hall.

He heard more clicks and gunfire echoing around him. "Sonya!" he cried.

The guide was back in a few moments.

"Help me with him," Billy pleaded.

Sonya nodded and gripped Oscar under one muscular arm. Billy took the other. Together, they dragged him into Sonya and Raul's room.

"Is there first aid here?" Billy asked.

"No, but there's probably one in the bathroom," Raul said.

"Got get it," Billy said.

Raul left. Billy and Sonya dragged Oscar the rest of the way into the room and laid him flat on his back.

Sonya examined his wounds and shook her head. "I don't think there's anything we can do."

"Stow that talk," Billy snapped, angry. "He'll get through this. He's survived worse, believe me."

"Alright. I'm just warning you."

"Don't bother. He'll make it."

Raul came back a moment later with the kit. He and Sonya got to work on Oscar. Sonya glanced at Billy.

"Go help the others. We got this."

Billy hesitated before realizing it was what Oscar would have done. Grabbing his gun, he ran out of the room.

* * *

Edgar burst into Harding and Atlanta's room a second before Grant and Ellie.

Edgar watched the Troodon leap at Harding, knock the chair away, and clamp its jaws shut around the vet's arm. Harding screamed.

Edgar raised his gun and filled the animal with bullets. It dropped dead, but still retained its hold on Harding's arm. Harding gripped the upper jaw and tore it loose, then bent to examine his injury.

Edgar ran to the window and slammed it shut as Grant checked on Harding and Ellie checked on Atlanta. The girl was crying and clutching her arm. It was red.

From the screams coming from Sarah's room, Edgar guessed Sarah and Wu were under attack, as well. He ran out to help them.

And came face-to-face with a Troodon.

* * *

Sarah swung her machete at the Troodon that had her cornered. The Troodon were being careful to stay out of swinging distance and she realized that they were analyzing her attacks. Looking for weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

They then acted, one of the Troodon lunging forward and biting her leg. Sarah screamed and fell on her knees, blood dripping from the wounds.

The Troodon watched their injured prey. They knew it would only be a matter of time…

* * *

Edgar raised his gun, but was surprised when the dinosaur actually knocked it aside with one of its arms, bullets spraying harmlessly into the wall.

Before he could react, the Troodon was on top of him. Teeth sank into Edgar's shoulder. He screamed in pain and tried using his gun, but the Troodon grabbed it and tossed it aside, leaving Edgar defenseless.

Edgar threw a punch, but the dinosaur bit down on his arm and blood struck his face. The Troodon continued to chew on his arm and Edgar screamed as his pain intensified.

* * *

Wu had locked himself in his room's bathroom, clutching a gun. He did his best to keep silent, listening to the screams, the gunfire, and the clicks.

Wu was terrified. Shaking. He prayed that they wouldn't find him, that he would be left alone.

His prayers went unanswered. Something began slamming into the bathroom door with a reptilian hiss. The creature did not go away and the slamming only got stronger. Wu pointed his gun at the door, trying to steady his aim. If possible, he did not want to waste any bullets.

* * *

Grant heard Edgar's screams and ran into the hall. The man was being attacked by a Troodon. His screams were horrific. Grant ran forward and grabbed Edgar's gun, which he had dropped. He put the tip of the barrel to the Troodon's head and fired a short burst.

The monster fell, decapitated.

Grant pushed the body off of Edgar and bent to check on Edgar's condition.

It was not good. Not at all. He was bloodied - completely. His neck, shoulder and arm. The blood flowed freely. Grievous, incurable wounds.

Edgar's lips were moving. Grant leaned in, to catch his words.

"Don't let them drag me away," he pleaded.

Grant put a hand on his uninjured shoulder: "No, of course not."

Edgar swallowed. Grant just about caught his last words: "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay Edgar. It's okay."

Grant unclipped Edgar's pistol. He put it to Edgar's head. He pulled the trigger.

He fell back, shocked and traumatized. Edgar was dead. Dead just like that.

He felt familiar hands on his shoulder and neck, and looked up to see Ellie.

"Is Atlanta alright?" he asked.

"Yes," Ellie said, looking at Edgar.

She brushed Grant's hair.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then Billy Yoder came running around the corner. He stopped when he saw Edgar. "Who is…"

He got a closer look. A look of shock and horror flashed on his face, followed quickly by a storm cloud of rage.

He yelled a stream of curses and punched the wall. "I'm going to kill him," he spat.

"Who?"

Billy turned his eyes on Grant. His hate-filled eyes.

"Henry Wu."

* * *

Atlanta didn't know where she was. It was hard to focus. But she heard a voice. A voice she never thought she would hear again.

"Atlanta."

It couldn't be her. But it was. Exactly how Atlanta remembered her.

"Mom?"

Atlanta ran forward and leaped into Nima Cruz's arms, hugging her mother tightly and crying. Atlanta comforted her daughter, stroking Atlanta's hair.

"Shh… it's alright. You're safe."

"But… but you're dead. Does that mean I'm dead too?"

Nima shook her head. "No. It's not your time yet. I miss you so much. We'll be together again. But not tonight."

"I don't want you to go…" Atlanta whimpered. "It's so hard without you."

Nima smiled softly. "I know. You've been so brave. But you're strong. I have faith in you. And don't worry. I'll be watching you."

Atlanta opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. And everything just faded away…

* * *

The attack had passed, the Troodon retreating when they realized that their alpha was dead. Without him, they were in disarray. But they hadn't fled far.

Harding had stabilized Atlanta's condition and was wrapping bandages around her wound. The girl had passed out, but was going to live. Harding had his own injury, but Atlanta came first.

"I'm so sorry," he said to her, even though she couldn't hear him.

The survivors had joined in Sonya and Raul's room. Other than Edgar, there had been no casualties, but most of them suspected that Oscar didn't have long to live.

"I'm out of carfentanil," Harding announced, his voice shaking slightly. "I can't treat myself or Sarah without it."

"Then we have to get more," Ellie said.

"I don't know if we have any more."

Wu snapped his fingers. "Sorkin's lab. She's bound to have some there."

"That's on the other side of the park almost," Harding replied.

"What difference does it make? We need the stuff."

"Then why don't you go and get it?" Harding snapped.

Wu rolled his eyes.

"Don't start arguing again," Grant said firmly. "Ellie and I will go and get it. Right?" He looked expectantly to Ellie.

Ellie nodded. "Right."

"But we don't have any more cars," Harding remembered.

"No, but we have some bicycles in the garage," Wu said.

Grant and Ellie got their stuff and got ready to go. "How are we going to get out of here with the Troodon lurking around outside?"

"We'll distract them," Sonya promised.

"Alright. Well, be quick."

Grant and Ellie left the room. A moment later Harding followed.

"Listen, there may not be enough carfentanil for both Sarah and me," he said. "If that's the case, I want you to give it to Sarah."

Grant looked at Harding with sad eyes. He knew it would be futile to try and convince Harding otherwise. A father's love prohibited him from making any selfish decisions.

"Okay," he said quietly.

Harding gripped his arm. "It's been a privilege, Dr. Grant."

Grant was surprised to find tears in his eyes. He quickly brushed them away. "You too, Gerry."

They stood there for several more minutes in silence, just waiting for the signal that it was clear to go.

A few minutes later Sonya stuck her head through the door. "We have them over here on the other side. Now's the time."

Grant nodded. He took a deep breath, and opened the door. He and Ellie left, Harding watching them go.

* * *

Dodgson hauled King into the boat right as the attack started. Two little green dinosaurs leaped out of the trees, quickly followed by three more. The creatures' neck flaps extended, creating a fan-like arrangement. The fans rattled as the creatures hissed in unison.

Dodgson wielded the sledgehammer with precision. He was outnumbered, but he wasn't dead yet.

One of the dinosaur's head snapped back, sending a glob of some kind of black substance smacking wetly against Dodgson's shirt. He yelped in surprise and disgust and jumped back.

The creatures crouched low and began to stalk toward him. Hunters.

Dodgson realized he didn't stand a chance. But then he remembered something…

In his pocket - a flare! What was that Sorkin had said?

They're afraid of fire.

Dodgson struck the flare, watched the red embers spark and light. He waved the flare in front of the dinosaurs, who immediately submitted, hissing in aggravation.

Almost there. Dodgson took the opportunity to push the boat closer to the water. He pushed it about a foot, then turned around to check to see if the dinosaurs had come any closer.

A good thing he did. The creatures had crept forward several more paces. Dodgson waved his flare at them and they immediately retreated.

Dodgson turned and pushed the boat another foot or so. He looked back and waved the creatures off. In this fashion, he was able to get the boat, inch by inch, in the water.

Until the current was drawing the boat out to sea. Dodgson threw his flare at the green dinosaurs and then splashed into the water and clambered up the side of the boat. The dinosaurs hissed and squealed in frustration, but none of them approached the water. Dodgson let out a shout of triumph.

Then his smile fell. He knew why they weren't following him…

* * *

The man continued to shout and yell like a total madman. Arnold crouched behind the receptionist's desk, hands squeezing his gun.

What should he do? Shoot the man? Obviously, he'd gone raging mad. He was a hazard to the rest of them. But Arnold had never shot a man before, and he didn't want to start today.

There had to be some other way…

* * *

Dodgson looked around him, eyes alert for any movement. He heard a splash and he turned around to see a dark shape surfacing nearby. Dodgson was filled with dread. It was the damn tylosaur.

Dodgson still had the gun he took from Sorkin. He aimed carefully and fired several bursts at the tylosaur. He heard bullets strike the water but it was too dark to see if he had actually hit anything. It was hopeless. But Dodgson refused to give up.

Dodgson listened to the tylosaur moving through the water and kept his eyes on the black shape that was circling him, occasionally firing. Eventually he ran out of ammo.

The tylosaur bumped the boat and Dodgson struggled to keep his balance. The damn creature was toying with him! Dodgson desperately looked around for anything that he could use to distract the tylosaur and give him time to escape. Anything.

There was no choice. He had to go back. Go back and face those stupid green dinosaurs on the beach.

He turned the wheel and brought the ship around in a circle. Then he spotted something. It looked like an underwater cave. Wonderful! It was big enough for the boat to fit in, but too large for the tylosaur. Dodgson started making his way toward the cave. The tylosaur followed him all the way, brushing up against it, snorting and gushing water.

The boat glided smoothly into the cave. Dodgson looked back to see if the tylosaur had followed. He saw the creature's large back, but it was staying back. Yes! It had worked! The tylosaur was just too big to fit in here.

Safe for the meantime, Dodgson slouched against the boat, ready to take a nap. But then he remembered something. King. Each minute, King came closer to leave this life. Maybe there was a first-aid-kit around here somewhere. Dodgson looked around the cabin, and sure enough, there was a kit. He brought it back and opened it, his fingers fumbling with the contents. He used the flashlight to see. There: bandages, medicine, morphine, all sorts. Dodgson quickly wrapped King's injury, and then gave him some painkillers. That was about all he could do. King had lost a lot of blood. His survival was up in the air. Dodgson had done everything he could.

Now he could sleep.

* * *

Grant and Ellie found bicycles in the garage and luckily encountered no Troodon. As they started down the road to Sorkins' lab they heard the distant clicks and gunshots while the others distracted the Troodon. Grant hoped that they would make it back in time, because at the moment everybody was depending on them.

* * *

Trey ordered Tim and Lex to get behind him. Everyone in the safe room was panicking, trying to put as much distance between them and the Troodon as they could. The Troodon hissed, trying to trap a few unlucky people in a corner.

The door was knocked down and people began fleeing into the hallways. Trey saw an opportunity to escape.

"Come on," he told the kids, rushing them toward the open door. Luckily, the Troodon didn't seem to notice them yet. Trey tried to ignore the screams of those less fortunate than him, focusing on getting the kids out safely.

Unfortunately, the hallway wasn't safe either. Several Troodon had positioned themselves there, waiting for the frightened prey to be herded to them…

It was a trap, Trey realized. The Troodon had actually set a trap and they had fallen into it.

There was nowhere to go. The Troodon cut off their escape. The survivors were trapped. Trey pulled the kids close to himself. He would protect them for as long as he could.

Suddenly, with a blast of gunfire, the first Troodon fell dead, quickly followed by a second. The remaining Troodon hesitated for a moment before turning and running away.

Their rescuers were four or five heavily armed Costa Ricans, including Eduardo. Malcolm and Kelly were with them.

"Dr. Malcolm!" Trey exclaimed.

"Hi," Malcolm said, breathless from the run. "You kids alright?" he asked Tim and Lex.

"Well, we're alive," Tim said.

Malcolm scanned the other survivors with his flashlight. "Where's Arnold?"

"We went looking for you," said Trey. "He…" A thought came to him: "Oh no! Guiterrez!"

"Who?" Malcolm was puzzled.

Trey didn't have time to answer. With a plea to Malcolm to take care of the kids, he ran back to the safe room from which they had fled.

He pushed open the door. "Guiterrez? Elena?"

A Troodon looked up at him, jaws bloodied, pale eyes staring.

Trey slammed the door shut as the Troodon began to pounce. "Hey!" he shouted to Eduardo, "Quick, come here!"

Eduardo and another man came running, guns at the ready.

"Three, two, one," Trey said, and flung open the door. Eduardo and the other man laid waste to the Troodon within.

Trey stepped into the small room, slipping on pools of blood.

"Guiterrez?" he said.

A soft moan answered him. Trey went over. It was Elena. She was alive, but injured.

"Quick, someone get her out of here," Trey said.

Trey pulled out his flashlight and shone the beam around the room. There were several dead bodies, but no sign of Guiterrez.

Where on Earth had he gone? It didn't seem possible that those things could have eaten him that fast.

Malcolm wandered into the room. "What's going on?" he asked.

"There was a man. His name was Guiterrez. He was here, but now he's not," Trey explained.

Malcolm frowned. "Is there a ventilation shaft in this room?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"How big is it?"

"Big enough that those things were able to come through it."

Malcolm looked grim.

"What is it?" Trey demanded. "What are you…" Then, he suddenly realized. "Oh no…"

"They take you to dark, quiet places," Malcolm said. "Like store rooms. They've probably taken him to the basement."

"Then we have to find him," Trey said, determined.

"No one's going to want to go down there."

"Well, too bad. It's his only chance. We've got to find him."

* * *

Bobbie stayed silent, listening to the sounds of prowling Troodon and the occasional gunshot. She suspected that things out there had to wind down, right? But for now, Bobbie held her breath… and her gun.

To her surprise, Bobbie's patient had begun to wake up. The boy who had been attacked earlier that day was coming to his senses.

Bobbie said some comforting words in Spanish as the boy looked around, piecing together where he was.

Bobbie confirmed that he was in a hospital and she was a doctor, but he had to be quiet.

He asked why.

Before Bobbie could answer, a Troodon made a clicking sound not too far away.

The boy recognized the sound and his eyes widened in fear. He started to panic.

Bobbie tried to calm the boy down, but she couldn't stop him from screaming in Spanish about how the monsters with glowing eyes had come back to finish him off. Bobbie's attempts to shush him did no good.

The clicking sounds were nearer. The Troodon had heard them. Bobbie watched the door intently, but then realized in horror that the clicking sounds weren't coming from the hallway.

They were coming from within the walls. From within the vents…

* * *

It took about twenty minutes for Grant and Ellie to locate Sorkin's private laboratory.

The white building was surrounded by towering trees and jungle fauna. There was an electric fence surrounding the perimeter. Grant and Ellie rode their bikes up to the gate, dismounted, and set about looking for a way in.

"The power's off, isn't it?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah," Grant said.

Ellie extended her hand and gave the gate a gentle push. It swung inward. She glanced back at Grant before walking through.

"Careful," Grant cautioned.

"I am," she promised.

They crossed the sodden ground to the front door. Usually, it was protected by a lock, but since the power was off, all it took was a gentle pull to get it open. Grant and Ellie stepped inside the dark building.

Grant pulled out his flashlight and shone it around. A couple of rats fled from the sudden light.

"Now where on Earth will we find carfentanil?" Grant wondered.

"Let's try Sorkin's office. She's bound to have an office right?" Ellie said.

"All pompous scientists do," Grant remarked.

Grant and Ellie entered Sorkins' office. There was a desk with a computer, several cabinets, boxes scattered throughout the room, and a map of the island on one of the walls. The two searched the office and on the desk Ellie found a framed photograph of a younger Sorkin holding a smiling child in her arms. It reminded Ellie that despite the terrible things Sorkin had done, she still had loved ones and family. She wasn't evil, only human. And humans were capable of making horrible mistakes when they think they're in the right…

"Ellie, are you okay?" Grant asked.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded, opening one of the drawers of Sorkins' desk. It was completely empty except for one thing…

"Interesting," Ellie said, pulling out a journal. "Hey, Alan, I think I found Sorkins' notebook." She flipped through the contents. A few sketches caught her eye.

"Are we taking it?" Grant asked.

"It could be useful," Ellie decided, putting the notebook in her bag.

Grant was going through some of the crates in the room. They were full of supplies, including carfentanil. He also found a scrap of paper on the floor. He picked it up and noticed a message that had been quickly written on it…

'Remember: INDOMINUS'

Grant wasn't sure what to make of it, but he stashed in his pocket, figuring that it could be important.

Ellie was going through the cabinets. "Interesting… she printed and filed all her emails. I don't have time to go through all of them, but she obviously wanted to keep physical copies of her communications with other people for some reason."

"I have what we came for," Grant told her. "We should probably go. The others are depending on us."

He then paused, something caught his eye. On one of the walls was a map of an island chain called 'the Five Deaths.' One of the islands was labeled as Site B.

Before he could figure out what that meant, he heard a sound. The front door opening. Footsteps. He and Ellie had company.

Grant ducked behind the desk. Ellie hid behind a shelving unit. Grant peered out from around the desk, waiting to see who their visitor was.

The footsteps grew louder and louder until the person walked through the door. Grant paused, puzzled. It wasn't Sorkin, as he originally thought. This was a man… a black man. Well muscled and strong, he had tack boxes and ammo strung across his chest and a machine gun snatched in his hands.

Grant didn't know if this man was friend or foe. Whoever he was, he obviously knew what he was getting into, judging by the weaponry he had on him.

The man inclined his head, a very animalistic movement. Then he spoke in a soft African voice. "Come out. I see you there."

Grant knew better than to test the patience and the trigger finger of the heavily armed man. Ellie knew this as well. They both got out from their hiding places, showing the man that they were unarmed.

"Who are you?" the man asked.

"I'm Dr. Alan Grant and this is Dr. Ellie Sattler," Grant explained. "Look, we're just here for some carfentanil. We mean you no harm and we won't stand in your way."

The man relaxed, lowering his gun. "Continue with your business then. I'm George Lawala and I'm not here to start a fight with you. We have no bad blood."

"What are you doing here then?" Ellie asked. "Did you come with Dodgson?"

"Yeah, but I don't care about his motives. I'm here on a personal matter."

"Personal matter?" Grant asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Lawala promised. "So what do you know about this building?"

"It belongs to a rogue scientist named Laura Sorkin," Grant explained. "She's on this island and when we heard somebody come in we thought it was her."

"Is she dangerous?"

"Very."

"Do you know about anybody else on the island?"

"We have friends waiting for us back in the safari lodge. We could use an extra gun. You should come back with us."

George Lawala considered this. He realized that it would be wise to know how to get off the island and these people could help him. "Alright, I'll come."

* * *

Sorkin made her way through the dark jungle and she came across a small stream. She saw a dark shape on the ground and realized it was Hammond.

Or at least what was left of him.

The compys must have gotten him, Sorkin realized. There were worse ways one could have gone out and despite their disagreements and Hammond's incompetence, Sorkin was glad that he had gone out somewhat peacefully thanks to compy venom.

Pausing for a moment to pay her respects, Sorkin continued her journey. Luckily, she knew where she was going…

* * *

Grant and Ellie discovered, to their delight, that Mr. Lawala had managed to find a jeep. That made the drive back to the park much faster.

Stopping in front of the safari lodge, Grant noted that it was oddly quiet. "Where are the Troodon?" he wondered aloud.

"The what?" Lawala said. He was checking his magazine.

"They're small carnivores with big white eyes,"Grant explained in a hushed tone. "Very dangerous. There was a pack of them here when we left, but now, no sign of them."

Lawala popped a new magazine into his gun. "Perhaps they are waiting in ambush."

"Perhaps. They've proven themselves to be intelligent."

"What are we going to do?" Ellie asked.

Grant thought for a moment.

"Let's sneak in through the back. If anything happens, I'm sure you can handle it," he said, looking at Lawala.

The hunter grinned. "Certainly."

"Then let's move."

Grant led the way around the back of the lodge, keeping a careful eye out for anything suspicious.

Grant had an odd feeling. Where were they?

They came to the door. Grant opened it and went inside, followed by Ellie and then Lawala.

They crept down the hallway to the room where the others were.

Grant opened the door…

In the room Grant was shocked by the sight of what looked like the partial remains of several Troodon… and what was left of Oscar Morales. It took Grant a moment to realize that it had been an explosion that killed Oscar and those Troodon.

"Oh my God," Ellie said, disgusted. "I think I'm going to hurl…"

"What the hell happened here?" Lawala asked.

"I think I might know," Grant told the hunter.

* * *

Oscar Morales had insisted that he should be left behind. In his state he would only slow them down and the safety of others was more important. Billy Yoder was stubborn at first, but ultimately yielded. Oscar knew it was hard for Billy, but his best friend was tough. And Oscar trusted him to see the rest of the mission through.

Once they had left, the room filled with Troodon. As they advanced on Oscar, he pulled the pin of a grenade he had been holding onto. If he had to go, he would at least try taking some of the Troodon with him.

When the grenade exploded Oscar died immediately. Several Troodon were also killed or injured by the blast.

* * *

Grant sighed. He didn't know Oscar well. He didn't know Oscar at all. But he didn't deserve to die like this.

But what had happened to the others?

* * *

"Do you think they followed us?" Atlanta wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Sarah told her truthfully.

They were in one of the maintenance tunnels, deep underneath the park. It was dark and clammy, and the perfect hiding spot for Troodon. Their advantage was, thanks to Oscar's sacrifice, they might be able to sneak undetected through the bowels of the island to the beach.

Billy said it wouldn't be much longer until the rescue team arrived. All they had to do was survive.

Speaking of Billy, the mercenary wasn't doing too well. He had lost his entire team; D-Caf, Edgar, and now Oscar, his partner and friend. He had scarcely said a word since Oscar's death and deflected any attempts from the others to comfort him.

"He needs time," Harding whispered to Sarah.

But Sarah had seen that kind of hollow, desolate look in someone's eyes before. She had a feeling the events here would haunt Billy for the rest of his life.

Every so often Billy would look up to shoot a conspiratorial glance at Wu. Obviously, he blamed the scientist for the deaths of his friends. To Sarah, he looked ready to kill. She advised Sonya and Raul to keep an eye on the man.

"How are Grant and Ellie going to find us?" Raul asked.

Sonya snapped her fingers. "The radio." She pulled her radio out of her pocket and turned it on. "Grant? Ellie? Can you hear me?"

* * *

Ellie heard a tiny voice calling her name. For a moment she thought she was going crazy, which - after everything they've been through - wasn't wholly impossible. But Grant and Lawala had heard it too.

"Where's it coming from?" Grant wondered.

Ellie went to the back of the room, carefully stepping over the remains of the Troodon. She found the radio on the ground behind the broken remains of a desk. Somehow, it had survived the explosion.

She picked it up and adjusted the frequency. "Hello? Who's there?"

"It's me, Sonya. Are you and Grant okay?"

"Yes, we're fine. We had some help."

"Military?" Sonya said hopefully.

"Afraid not. His name is Lawala. He found us in Sorkin's lab."

"Wait… Lawala? George Lawala?" Sonya repeated.

"Yes. That's his name."

"I know him! He was part of our group," Sonya said. "Of Dodgson's group. We thought he got eaten by the tylosaur."

Ellie heard Lawala chuckle with amusement.

"Listen Sonya. We have the carfentanil. But where are you?"

"We're in the maintenance tunnels. We think we can get to the beach from here," Sonya told her.

"Okay. We'll try to find you. Stay in touch okay?"

"Okay. Good luck."

* * *

Arnold realized that he had no choice. This man was a danger to himself and others. He didn't want to hurt him, but it had to be done. Arnold took aim, shut his eyes, and fired. The man fell onto the ground, wounded. Arnold sighed in relief and rushed forward to retrieve the man's gun before he could use it again.

The man had still not come to his senses and was screaming nonsense. Arnold saw the injury on the man's arm and realized that it was a Troodon bite. One of the symptoms of a Troodon bite was hallucinations and violent behavior, which explained the man's outburst. Luckily, the gunshot wound Arnold gave him was nonlethal. If Arnold hurried he would be able to save…

A Troodon clicked in the darkness. The man's violent screams had not gone unnoticed. Arnold saw several pairs of glowing eyes watching them.

* * *

Grant, Ellie and Lawala drove to the maintenance shed and disembarked.

"Sonya said they went through here," Ellie told her companions.

"Then I guess that's where we're going too," Grant said.

The three of them made their way into the dark maintenance shed. Grant flicked on a flashlight and took the lead, guiding them through the confusing network of tunnels, corridors, and pathways.

Eventually, he spotted something on the floor. He stooped and picked it up. It was a bandage, red with blood. Grant poked the blood; still fresh.

"Do you think they left that on purpose for us to find?" Ellie wondered.

"I doubt it. Fresh blood attracts predators. None of them would be so stupid as to-"

From behind, they heard a series of clicks and snarls.

Grant's eyes widened with panic. "Go!"

He, Ellie and Lawala charged down the corridor as fast as their legs could carry them. Ellie spoke into her radio as she ran:

"Sonya! Hello! Sonya! Come in!"

A moment later, Sonya's voice replied: "Ellie! What's wrong?"

"We were followed. Where are you?"

"Are you in the tunnel?"

"Yes."

"Hold on a minute."

Grant, Ellie and Lawala continued to run, occasionally throwing glances behind them to see if the Troodon were making progress.

Then a figure appeared at the end of the corridor, waving to them. It was Sonya.

"Come on!" she shouted.

Ellie forced her legs to move faster, even though she was already going as fast as she could. Nevertheless, fear spurred her on.

Sonya pointed to the side: "In there, go in there!" She was pointing at a door.

Ellie, Grant and Lawala went in. Sonya followed, slamming the door behind them.

They were in a small cramped boiler room. Harding, Sarah, Wu, everyone else was huddled around the flickering glow of hand-powered lanterns. Grant was happy to see them all safe.

Harding stood up and walked over to them. "Good job. Do you have the carfentanil?"

* * *

Sorkin returned to her lab and realized that somebody had been inside. She panicked, going through her office to make sure nothing of importance had been taken. To Sorkin's horror, her journal was gone.

"Dammit!" she said angrily. She threw a framed picture against a wall in a fit of rage without thinking, once to wince in pain because of her fresh injuries. She needed to calm down.

Luckily, she had an idea where her journal might be. Wu was unaware that she had a radio and had been listening to their frequency, so she knew what his group was up to. They were hiding out in the tunnels, hoping they would lead them to the beach.

Sorkin removed some wooden boards in the floor, revealing a hidden space where she kept a firearm for emergencies. She then realized what she had thrown against the wall. Shaming herself for acting so recklessly, Laura retrieved the photo from the shattered frame and slid it into her pocket. She sighed.

This had to end. And she would not let her research fall into the hands of Henry Wu. She was determined to prevent that at any cost.

* * *

Bobbie acted quickly, moving the table that was blocking the door away. She opened the door and guided her panicking patient out of the room, doing her best to calm him down. Behind them, a Troodon burst out of the vent. As several others followed the first, Bobbie slammed the door shut. Luckily, the Troodon ignored her when they saw Manuel's corpse. Bobbie heard the Troodon feasting on her paramedic's body and she turned away, horrified. But at least she and her patient was alive, though they were vulnerable in the dark hallways of the Troodon-infested hospital.

* * *

Arnold tried to help Vargas get up, but the man screamed and hollered and flailed so much that Arnold had to back off.

"Get away from me!" the panicked man shouted.

He's going to draw them right to us, Arnold realized. He was a danger to everyone in the building. Knowing all this, Arnold still couldn't bring himself to leave him.

So he tried something else. Raising the butt of his gun, he brought it down on Vargas' forehead.

The man screamed louder.

Arnold did it again, and then a third time. Finally, on the fourth try, the man suddenly lost consciousness. Fearing for a moment that he had killed him, Arnold checked the man's pulse. A steady rhythmic beat was there. Good.

Now to get him out of here.

Arnold grabbed the man under his arms and began to drag him to the nearest safe room. Luckily, a couple of Eduardo's men found them and helped Arnold get the unconscious man to the safe room.

Dragging him inside, they left him in the care of one of the doctors.

One of the men spoke in rapid Spanish to Arnold. Arnold didn't understand a word. He shook his head to show he didn't understand.

The man sighed as if stuck dealing with a stupid child. Then he spoke in slow, deliberate English:

"Carter. Carter. Doctor."

Ah, yes. Carter, the doctor. That was who he meant.

Arnold realized the man was waiting for him to respond. "Uhh… yes. Si. Si. Carter. Doctor."

The man made a broad sweep of his arms. Arnold understood his meaning. Where is she?

Arnold pointed down the hall. "Follow me," he said.

The man nodded and followed him.

* * *

Grant nodded and got out the carfentanil, much to Harding's relief. He took the carfentanil and immediately began treating his daughter with it.

Grant noticed that Billy was away from the others, acting distant and not speaking. "Is he okay?" Grant asked Sonya.

Sonya sadly shook her head. "There's nothing we can do for him right now," she told him. "We just need to give him some space." Grant decided she was right and he nodded in agreement.

Ellie went over to Wu. "Uh, Henry, me and Grant found something of interest in Sorkin's lab."

This grabbed Wu's attention. "Really? What did you find?"

Ellie pulled out the journal and Wu took it from her, flipping through it. "This is great! Now we can see what Sorkin was doing in secret! Did you find anything else?"

Ellie shook her head. "We didn't have enough time to go through everything."

"That's fine, I can always go through her office later."

"Later?"

Everyone was leaving Billy alone. Everybody except for Atlanta.

"I'm sorry about Oscar," she told the mercenary.

"Why the hell do you care?" Billy asked rudely.

"My mom knew his family," Atlanta explained. "She didn't elaborate too much on their history, but she did respect Oscar's skills. And I stayed with his sister Elena recently, back on the mainland."

Billy nodded. He knew Oscar's sister. "What am I going to tell Elena?" he realized.

"You should tell her that he died a hero," Atlanta told him. "That he saved the lives of many people, including you and me. He died… like my mother did."

"Who was your mother?"

"Nima Cruz. She was killed on this island by a dinosaur. But a lot of more people would have died if she wouldn't have made that sacrifice."

Billy remembered Oscar mentioning a woman named Nima, a fellow mercenary who had a rocky history with his deceased partner. But despite their differences, Oscar respected Nima for her abilities.

"I'm sorry about your mom," Billy said sincerely.

"I still miss her, but I have to be strong," Atlanta nodded. "I have people helping me out though, so I don't have to be alone. You don't have to be alone either."

To Billy's surprise, the girl hugged him. Billy didn't stop her. Instead, he let it out and started crying.

"Thank you," he told Atlanta.

"We're in this together," Atlanta nodded. "Oscar's sacrifice won't be in vain."

"You're right," Billy decided, smiling weakly. "It won't."

Billy returned the hug, grateful for Atlanta's kindness. No more moping. He still had a job to finish.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! There are only two parts left and a lot can happen in that time.**

**As usual, please leave a review and let me know what you think of this story.**


	6. Sixth Iteration

**The good news is that the night has ****passed. The bad news is that the characters aren't out of trouble yet, since this iteration is building up to the climax of the story. A big thank you to those who have been following The Chaos Continues and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Remember, I appreciate all feedback!**

**Also, there's a really dark moment coming up in this chapter. I'm just warning you ahead of time.**

* * *

**Sixth Iteration**

"_System recovery may prove impossible."_

-IAN MALCOLM

Harding prepared to inject himself with the needle, but faltered. Glancing at Sarah, he murmured, "Uh, Sarah? Could you…?"

Sarah glanced over at him, to the vial in his hands, and laughed. "My dad, the dinosaur wrangler, afraid of a needle?"

"I've never been good with needles," Harding admitted.

Sarah took the vial and injected his arm. "Thanks," Harding said when she was done.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Grant asked.

"I think so, yeah," Harding told him.

"Well, let's gather our stuff then."

Everyone got to work gathering the meager supplies they'd been able to take with them from the safari lodge. It wasn't much: lamps, a few cans of food and bottles of water, and the med kit. With any luck, they'd be off this island before the supplies ran out.

"Now… how do we get out of here?" Raul asked.

"I think I can get us out," Harding said. "I didn't spend much time down here, but I know the basic layout, I think."

"You think?" Raul said, frowning.

"Well, I'll do my best."

"That's good enough for me," Grant said with an encouraging smile to Harding. "You first."

Harding led the group out of the boiler room and then began to trek through the dark and clammy maintenance tunnels.

Harding had only been down here one or two times in his life, but luckily there were signs and maps posted at every crossroad that provided some much-needed direction.

"We're getting closer," Harding promised.

He knew they must be near the beach when the smell of the ocean permeated the air. He even thought he could hear the waves splashing against the sand.

They came to a ladder. "This is it," Harding said. "This is the way out."

They went up the ladder one by one: First Sonya, then Atlanta, Wu, Sarah, Ellie, Billy, and then Harding. Finally, just Grant and Lawala remained.

Grant noticed Lawala hesitating. "Hey. What's wrong?" he asked.

The African hunter turned his soft eyes onto Grant. "Those creatures," he said in a soft voice. "Those… what did you call them? Troodon?"

Grant nodded.

"Did they kill Robert Muldoon?" he asked.

Grant was puzzled. "Yes. How did you know Muldoon?"

Lawala's gaze softened. "He was a friend," he murmured. "A good friend. A brother almost. He is the reason I am here: to avenge his death."

Grant was astonished, that anyone, even someone as obviously skilled and capable as Lawala, would risk their lives coming here to avenge the loss of a close friend. But there was no time to think about that.

"They're waiting for us," Grant said. "Are you coming or not?"

Lawala nodded and followed Grant up the ladder.

When they reached the top, Grant found himself blinking in the sunlight. Amidst the sound of wind blowing the trees, he heard the familiar crash of the ocean. It wasn't far, either.

"This way!" Wu said excitedly, pointing down the road. "The beach is right down this road. We're almost there!"

"Alright. Everyone stay close, and keep your eyes open," Billy advised.

The group ran onto the beach. Grant checked his watch. Luckily, they hadn't missed the helicopter. A few minutes after their arrival, Grant heard the familiar sound of a helicopter appearing over the horizon. Sure enough, he could make out the helicopter in the early morning light flying over the ocean and heading toward them.

Billy looked through his bag and pulled out a flare gun. He loaded and fired it into the air. The others began yelling and waving from the beach. They didn't want the pilot to miss them.

"Something's wrong," Lawala said to Grant.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think the pilot intends to land based on the flight pattern," Lawala noticed. "Though I'm not sure what else he could be trying to at-"

Lawala was cut off by the sound of gunfire. The helicopter opened fire on the beach, attacking the survivors. Grant threw himself down to the sand as bullets passed by.

The helicopter passed overhead and circled around to make another attack run. They had called for an evacuation and somehow they had gotten an execution.

"Into the jungle!" somebody screamed. Grant didn't need to be told twice. He leaped to his feet and ran toward the jungle as he heard the helicopter making its second attempt on their lives.

Reaching the cover of the trees, Grant looked back to see the status of the others.

Almost everyone had reached cover. Harding was still running with Sarah and Atlanta.  
But someone was lying in the sand…

"Raul!" Grant exclaimed.

The man was having trouble getting up. He must have been shot.

Abandoning reason, Grant ran back out to help Raul.

Reaching the man, he quickly checked him for injuries. There, two bullet holes in his stomach. Raul was gasping, as if he couldn't quite catch his breath.

Grant hoisted one arm around his shoulder. A moment later, Ellie and Billy were there, offering help. Between the three of them, they were able to carry the injured paleontologist to the trees.

"What's the damage?" Harding asked, running over.

"Two in the stomach," Grant told him.

Harding opened the medical kit and began rummaging through the contents.

Meanwhile, Raul was beginning to make horrible choking sounds…

Harding threw some bandages at Grant. "Wrap him!"

With shaking hands, Grant and Ellie began to wrap Raul's wounds. The blood was spilling so fast…

"Just keep the pressure on!" Harding said.

Harding picked up a vial and injected Raul with some morphine. The man's pained gasps began to die down, but he was still losing a lot of blood.

Raul gripped Grant's arm and stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Just hold on Raul," Grant said.

"I don't know how bad it is," Harding said. "I think none of his organs were hit, but I can't tell for sure. I'm a veterinarian, not a doctor," he added.

"You're doing a great job," Sonya said in a calm, steady voice.

Well, Raul was still alive anyway… for the time being. Grant wondered if that would still be the case if they hadn't acted so quickly.

"Just keep the pressure on," Harding instructed. "We'll bandage him up and load him with morphine. Then we have to go. We can't stay here in case those guys come back."

"But won't moving hurt him?" Grant asked.

Harding met his gaze. "We don't have any other choice."

Grant gave a firm nod. Looking down at Raul, he could see the man was drifting off into the realms of morphine-induced sleep. He wasn't going to feel the next few minutes.

"Okay. Let's wrap him and go," Grant said.

Carefully, Harding tied rolls of bandages around Raul's wounds. Once the wounds were wrapped, Grant, Harding, and Billy carried the unconscious Raul further into the jungle. Just that short walk exhausted Grant.

"We can't keep this up," Grant said. "We have to find transportation."

"But Sorkin sabotaged all of the cars," Wu reminded him.

"Not all of them," Grant replied. "Lawala found a car. We left it at the maintenance shed."

"I'll go get it," Lawala offered at once.

"Do you want someone to go with you?"

Lawala shook his head. "I'm better and faster on my own."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the mainland the nightmare had ended and the survivors welcomed the morning.

The hospital had been hit hard during the attack, but it was nothing compared to the rest of the town. The streets were full of bodies. Buildings to windows were shattered. The residents of those buildings had not been lucky with the exception of a few locals huddled fearfully in a corner or under a table.

The hospital was full of activity. The injured and wounded were being herded into rooms, the doctors working overtime to help them. Luckily, Arnold's knowledge of the Troodon saved many lives. For the staff this was very stressful, but Bobbie knew how important her efforts were.

Armed men searches the buildings for any Troodon that hid in the darkness, but it seemed like what was left of the pack had fled into the jungle when the sun began to come up.

Dactyls circled overhead, occasionally flying down to puck at the corpse of a Troodon kill.

Power was still out, but some volunteers had left for San Jose to get help. They should return in several hours. But even though the town had survived the night attack, the fear was still present.

Many Troodon had been killed, but they didn't get them all. There were still Troodon and only God knows what else out there in the jungle.

Some survivors raided the ruined bar for alcohol. Arnold and Trey didn't blame them. Last night was a tragedy. And worse, Guiterrez was never found. Nobody knows what happened to him, but he wasn't the only one missing.

Tensions were high and the people wanted revenge. This was only the beginning…

Malcolm didn't leave Kelly's side. He hadn't always been there for his daughter, but he wanted things to change. He didn't want to lose her and last night that was a real possibility. Jess stayed close. She missed her father and sister. She had no idea where Sarah had gone and she hoped she hadn't been killed by the Troodon, or worse…

Malcolm did his best to comfort her. Tim and Lex were with Elena. Hopefully the kids would be able to recover from this traumatic experience…

* * *

Arnold walked into a room. Bobbie Carter was there, as was the crazed man. Arnold had since learnt that the man's name was Vargas and he was the sole survivor of an InGen team sent here to eliminate the dinosaur threat. Clearly, they hadn't done a very good job.

It was strange. Of all the people that had been bit, including Arnold himself, Vargas was the only one he knew of who had gone crazy as a result. Bobbie theorized Vargas' reaction had something to do with his mental state, which, according to records, hadn't been great to begin with.

"It just pushed him over the edge," she explained.

Arnold left her to her studies and went off to find Malcolm.

Malcolm had returned to his hospital room and was laying in bed. His eyes were shut and the man was trying to get some sleep, something he didn't get any of last night. Kelly and Jess were talking to each other, getting along rather well. Arnold decided not to disturb them.

Seeing Malcolm asleep reminded Arnold that he was feeling rather tired himself. It had been a long, sleepless night. Arnold needed to rest. Finding an empty hospital room, he climbed into the bed and closed his eyes. Hopefully he would dream peacefully.

But not everybody was ready to sleep. Eduardo was among them. He would not rest easily knowing that those creatures were still out there. He would not wait and give the monsters a chance to make their next move. Eduardo began rallying survivors. It was time to strike back. It was time to take the fight to the Troodon. It was time to protect or avenge their loved ones. It was time to end this threat once and for all.

* * *

Lawala ran down the jungle road. He kept his eyes and ears open for the slightest hint of life. Should anything attack him, his AK-47 would make quick work of it.

Granted, it would have been safer for someone to go with him, but Lawala knew he was faster by himself. Having someone with him would just slow him down. Lawala was in peak health and could run for hours at a time if needed; he doubted any of the others could make such a claim.

After about three minutes, he found the manhole from which he and the others had climbed out of. He did a quick calculation in his head. Down there in the tunnels it took them thirty minutes or so to walk from the park to the beach. On the surface, Lawala wouldn't have to worry about getting lost, and he would run most of the way. He estimated he would be back in the park in about ten minutes, give or take. So long as nothing interrupted him.

With that in mind, he resumed his sprint.

* * *

The helicopter circled around the island until it spotted a boat being circled by a tylosaur. The man shouted and waved at the helicopter, trying to get its attention. The helicopter aimed and opened fire on the tylosaur. Bullets struck the creature and the blood turned red. The tylosaur turned away from the boat and dove under the water, vanishing as it swam away to recover from its wounds.

The helicopter got closer and the pilots recognized the man as the one they were here for. Lewis Dodgson. There was another man on the boat who wasn't moving and appeared to be injured. A stretcher was lowered down and it lifted the motionless figure, Howard King, onto the helicopter. Then Dodgson, after helping King's body onto the stretcher, was thrown down a ladder that he climbed up.

When Dodgson got onto the helicopter, he recognized the men waiting for him and smiled.

"We were monitoring communications from Isla Nublar," the pilot explained. "When Wu's group called for back-up, we used the opportunity to hijack the helicopter they were sending."

"You need to get us to the mainland," Dodgson told them. "If we don't get King medical attention he's not going to make it. Did you see Wu's team?"

The pilot nodded. "On the beach. They fled into the jungle, but we dropped off some men to finish them off."

"Good. We can't risk leaving any witnesses. And luckily, I'm not empty-handed this time." He patted the bag of Troodon eggs. "What about our agent in Costa Rica?"

"The rumors turned out to be true," the pilot told Dodgson. "There was an attack last night, but he survived and he thinks that he found their nesting sites. We're moving in now before the military or the EPA gets involved."

"Then take us home," Dodgson ordered. "I never want to see this damn island again."

The pilot acknowledged and turned the helicopter around, heading away from Isla Nublar. Dodgson relaxed. Despite the setbacks, it looked like he had finally won.

* * *

By the time Lawala reached the maintenance shed, a wall of clouds was approaching from the east. In the distance, he heard a rumble of thunder. It sure rained a lot on this island, he thought.

Here was the shed - and the jeep. Lawala opened the door and got in. He'd left the keys in the ignition when he, Ellie and Grant had come here. Lawala turned the keys and the engine rumbled to life, mimicking the distant rumblings of the approaching storm.

Then he heard something else. Voices. He turned the engine off so that he could listen. He turned his head toward the sound…

Yes, definitely those were voices. But whose? Other survivors? Or those men in the helicopter who had shot at them? Lawala wagered it was the latter. But he didn't want to hang around to find out. He started the engine again and pressed down on the gas pedal.

A spurt of gunfire ripped through the air, accompanied by angry voices. Lawala turned. Five or six heavily armed men and women were running toward him. Lawala swore and stamped on the gas, causing the jeep to leap forward, over a slight rise, and come crashing down again on all four wheels. He sped off down the jungle road back toward the beach. This was trouble. He hoped the others would be ready to go when he got there, because clearly, someone wanted them dead.

* * *

Bobbie Carter returned to check on Vargas, who had been restrained to the bed for his own safety and the safety of others.

To Bobbie's horror, Vargas was dead. Vargas had broken a glass cup and had used the shards of broken glass to cut open his wrists. Bobbie gasped and covered her mouth, shocked. The realization that he had attacked and shot innocent people had been too much for Vargas, so he had decided to end his own life.

Bobbie turned away, unable to look at Vargas' bled out body any longer. She started crying. Vargas was a stranger to her, but he had still been her patient. And she had failed him.

Unable to hold it in any longer, she screamed. Other people came into the room, asking what was wrong. When they saw the body, they fell silent. The only sound now was the approaching storm…

* * *

Grant and the others were waiting for Lawala to return with the jeep. An uneasy silence had taken over the group. After everything that had happened to them, they knew better than to assume that they were safe.

"Do you hear that?" Atlanta whispered.

Grant did. Branches snapping. Plants moving. Heavy footsteps. Something was coming their way. Something big.

Billy held his gun tightly, ready to defend the survivors to his last breath. The others waited, listening intently.

Grant heard a familiar squeaking sound and a baby Triceratops came into view. Grant couldn't believe it.

"Ralph?"

The baby squeaked in response, recognizing Grant.

"Ralph?" Ellie asked Grant, confused.

"Lex named a baby Triceratops we met Ralph while we were trying to make our way back to the visitor center," Grant quickly explained.

"A baby, huh?" Billy explained. "That makes sense, since that must be his mom."

A huge adult Triceratops followed Ralph and snorted at the humans.

"Don't worry," Harding told Billy. "Triceratops are actually quite docile."

Billy was still cautious as more Triceratops came out, only occasionally glancing at the humans.

"What are they doing?" Wu asked.

"Exploring their new territory," Ellie suggested. "They are no longer confined to their enclosures. The animals can mingle freely now."

Harding approached Ralph's mother and beckoned to his daughter. "She recognizes me as one of her handlers," ge explained. "Watch. She'll let me pet her. We found that Triceratops especially like being scratched in the hindquarters."

He demonstrated and Ralph's mother swung her tail in pleasure. Harding smiled. "You can pet her too."

"Really?"

Harding nodded.

Sarah was careful at first, but visibly relaxed when she started petting the dinosaur. She had been so focused on survival that she never got to stop to appreciate these animals. She was petting an actual goddamn Triceratops, an opportunity many could only dream of!

"She's beautiful," Sarah admired. "I would love to take the time to study them. There's so much that could be learned."

"Don't get any crazy ideas," Gerry warned. "Promise me that after this you won't try coming back to Isla Nublar. You already know how dangerous some of the species are."

Sarah sighed. "Fine. For your sake, I promise not to return to Isla Nublar. As much as I would love to conduct a proper study, you're probably right."

Grant saw that Atlanta was backing away from the roaming Triceratops herd. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Sorry, I'm just not a huge dinosaur fan right now," Atlanta admitted. "I think you can understand why. I would rather have those monsters stay away from me."

"They're not monsters, Atlanta," Grant explained. "They're animals. Triceratops are herbivores. They eat plants and they're not about to make an exception."

Grant offered Ralph a fern and the baby allowed himself to be fed, eating messily.

"Would you like to feed Ralph?" Grant asked. "He's quite friendly."

Atlanta hesitantly took the fern from Grant. Ralph licked his lips as he was fed more vegetation. He showed no signs of fear.

"He's kinda cute," Atlanta admitted, touching Ralph gently. Ralph squeaked as she patted him. She couldn't help but smile. "Wow. He's very tame."

"Everything is changing for them so quickly," Grant told her. "No more handlers to take care of them. No more barriers separating them from other species. I imagine that the animals are still figuring everything out."

"What will happen when they do."

"Equilibrium."

"What's that?"

"Balance. Currently the animals are more confused, defensive, aggressive. But that'll change. Just give it time."

Ralph finished chewing and returned to his mother. The herd of Triceratops moved on and vanished from sight.

"I guess this is their island now," Atlanta commented. "InGen is no longer welcome here at least." She couldn't help but wonder what it had been like when her mother grew up on Isla Nublar, before Nima's tribe had been forced off by InGen and their mercenaries. Atlanta realized that Nublar wasn't her home though. As far as she was concerned, the dinosaurs could have it. Let Nublar be their sanctuary, their refuge from human interference.

But if Isla Nublar was their home, where did Atlanta belong? She didn't know. Definitely not here.

She glanced over at Harding and Sarah. Two strangers willing to help her. Atlanta didn't have anyone right now, but she didn't have to be alone. And she was willing to give the Hardings a chance.

A jeep sped around the corner and skidded to a stop in front of them. Lawala jumped out. "We have a problem," he said.

"What?" asked Billy.

"I ran into those men who shot at us from the helicopter. They're on their way," Lawala quickly explained.

"What do we do?" asked Atlanta.

"Don't worry; we'll think of something," Harding told her.

"I know. Let's go to the aquarium," Wu suggested. "It's hidden, and I doubt those men know where it is."

"Sounds good," Grant nodded.

Everyone piled into the jeep. Grant got behind the wheel because Lawala wanted to be ready to open fire if need be. Grant stepped on the gas and the jeep hurtled forward down the jungle road.

* * *

Eduardo lead a group of armed men through the jungle, following the trail left behind by the pack of Troodon that had attacked the village during the night. The trail lead to a small cave. Eduardo pulled out his flashlight and entered the cave, gun ready…

And to his surprise, the cave was full of dead Troodon. Investigating some of the corpses, Eduardo recognized bullet holes. The cave also smelled like rotting fruit. Nerve gas. There were human bodies as well that had been turned into nests. But the eggs had been taken out.

"Qué diablos pasó aquí?" Eduardo asked himself as he looked around. Somebody had been here before them. But who?

* * *

Eggs from the nests of Troodon and other predatory dinosaurs were being loaded onto a boat by armed men working for Biosyn. A helicopter circled overhead and landed on the Costa Rican beach, Lewis Dodgson climbing out. He approached the leader of this operation.

Dodgson's agent had assumed the identity of a local researcher while investigating the rumors of InGen assets on the mainland. But there was no Dr. Martin Gutierrez. That was only the cover of…

"James!" Dodgson said, walking up to his man. "You really are the best! How many species?"

"Four," Ed James told his boss. "Small populations of compies, dilos, raptors, and Troodon. There still might be a few specimens and nests that we missed, but we still got a great haul."

"I heard there was an attack last night."

"Yes. An InGen operative was going to contact his superiors, so I cut the village's power. I didn't realize that during the night InGen's creatures would attack the hospital…" Ed James looked down in guilt.

"You did what you had to do," Dodgson said, trying to comfort James. "Sacrifice is necessary to make progress, Ed. You did good. I promise that when we get back to California your efforts will be rewarded and you'll get a well-deserved vacation."

"Thank you, Dr. Dodgson. How did your expedition go?"

"Not good, I'm afraid. But thanks to you we're coming out of this with a generous bounty. Did anyone suspect you?"

"No. The survivors in the fishing village probably think I was taken away by Troodon during the night. They had no idea I wasn't who I said I was."

"Perfect. Now let's move before the EPA and the army gets here. It's only a matter of time."

James nodded. He and Dodgson returned to the helicopter, which took off and flew away. The boat soon followed, heading north with its cargo of dinosaur eggs…

James leaned in toward Dodgson. "By the way, I think I know someone who might be able to help us out in the future."

"Who?" Dodgson asked, intrigued.

"He's a young American paleontologist. Real pain in the neck, but I think he might prove useful."

"Well, what's his name?" Dodgson demanded irritably.

"Richard Levine. You heard of him?"

Dodgson scratched his chin. "Maybe once or twice."

"Well, I'm meeting him in a couple of days. See if we can sway him over to our side."

* * *

They drove for about ten minutes, avoiding the main roadways, in case those men were using them to navigate the island.

Eventually, they managed to loop around to the aquarium. Everyone dismounted the jeep, and Lawala took charge, shepherding everyone into the building before following after them.

The room inside was dark as the power had been cut. Ellie pulled out a flashlight and shone it around.

"So what's the plan now?" Atlanta asked no one in particular.

In the darkness, something moved.

"What was that?" a panicked Wu asked.

"Probably an animal. We should check it out just to be sure," Billy said. He nodded to Grant. The two men approached cautiously…

* * *

The Biosyn mercenaries followed the tracks left by the jeep Lawala took. Another team was making sure that their targets didn't try the docks. The groups communicated by radio.

"They'll run out of gas eventually," the leader of the first team said into his radio. "We'll find them. There's no way that they're getting off this island alive."

The leader froze when he heard something. The bushes. The mercenaries aimed their weapons as a woman came out of the jungle and onto the road.

"Don't shoot!" the woman told them, raising her arms where they could see them. "I'm more useful to you alive than dead."

"Why's that?" the lead mercenary asked. "Who are you?"

"My name is Dr. Laura Sorkin," the woman explained. "I'm a geneticist who used to work for John Hammond. But I have no love for InGen, especially Henry Wu. You work for Biosyn, right?"

"You're in no position to be asking questions, Dr. Sorkin."

"My knowledge of InGen technology could be beneficial to your employers. I could help Biosyn beat the competition. And-" She motioned to the bag she was carrying. "I have Henry Wu's precious research. Bring me back alive and you will be rewarded for all that I can offer."

The lead mercenary thought about this for a moment. If she was right, he and his team could probably get a bonus. It was worth the risk. "Alright. You're coming with us. Don't resist."

"I have no reason to," Sorkin told him. "I share a common enemy with Biosyn. We can both benefit from this. Don't worry. You won't regret this."

* * *

A Compsognathus skittered across the floor. Billy sighed and lowered his gun.

"Everyone take a load off," Grant said. "We could be here a while."

Ellie found some hand-crank lanterns in one of the shelves and cranked it up, causing the room to fill with light. Everyone crowded around and Sarah opened some cans of food, which were passed around and consumed. When the meal was over, Billy appointed watches - first himself and Grant, then Harding and Wu, and so on. Everyone else lay down to get a few minutes sleep.

Billy got into a comfortable position and rested his gun on his lap. He looked across the room at Grant, who was settling in.

"Thank you," the paleontologist said.

Billy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What for?"

"For getting us this far," Grant said.

Billy shook his head and grunted. "It wasn't me. It was Edgar and Oscar. And D-Caf. They're the ones you have to thank."

"I know, I am grateful to them. Exceedingly grateful. But don't downplay your own accomplishments, Billy. You also played a role in keeping us alive."

"Well thanks," Billy said. He wasn't much of a fan of this soppy stuff, but he could tell that Grant meant what he said, so he tried to smile.

Billy could hear thunder outside. The storm was almost on them.

"What do you think our chances are?" he asked Grant. "Of getting back to the mainland?"

"I don't know," Grant said honestly. "But we made it this far, right? We can't give up now."

"Right," Billy nodded. "You were here when things went to hell, right?"

"Yeah," Grant told Billy. He thought of the people that didn't survive. Like Nima, Harris, Regis, Muldoon, Gennaro, Hammond…

"When did you think you weren't going to make it?" Billy asked.

"When I was locked in a freezer," Grant recalled.

"Really?"

"That Sorkin woman held me and others hostage, keeping us in a freezer so that her demands could be met."

"And this Sorkin woman is still at large?"

"Maybe. I'm a bit worried about the damage she could do."

"Well, whatever she does, we'll deal with it. We already made it this far, right?"

Grant smiled at Billy. "Right."

Unknown to either of them, a pair of glowing eyes watched them from the dark and then vanished.

* * *

**First of all... I'm sorry. I felt like Vargas killing himself does make sense, but I'll also admit that it was too dark. I actually wrote the scene with Ralph to make up for how dark the story had gotten in some places. This story isn't perfect and one of the problems that I think it has is the dark tone in several areas. But I'm not trying to tell a perfect story, I'm just trying to stay true to the experience I had with my friend when we did our Interactive Storytelling Game. I apologize if Vargas' suicide made you uncomfortable.**

**The twist with "****Gutierrez" wasn't planned from the beginning, it was just something that I thought up while trying to think of a good way to resolve the Troodon on the mainland plot. I had to address why the power went out and I had to address what happened to Gutierrez. Ed James is a character from the second novel and I just thought it would be interesting if one of the heroes turned out to secretly be a Biosyn agent, plus it was something I could use as a sequel hook now that Biosyn has secured themselves dinosaur eggs. And it would also be interesting if Dodgson "won" for once. Richard Levine, the paleontologist mentioned by Ed James, is also a character from the second novel, by the way.  
**

**The scene with Ralph achieved several things. I wanted to give Atlanta and Sarah a positive experience with the dinosaurs so that Atlanta wouldn't hate all dinosaurs. The scene was a much-needed breather for the heroes on the island, especially after their means of escape turned out to be a means of execution. The twist with the helicopter was my excuse to keep them on Nublar for a bit longer because the stuff with Sorkin hadn't been properly resolved yet. Finally, the scene with Ralph actually addressed why this story had been so dark. I do apologize for the lack of peaceful herbivore scenes before, by the way, so I hope the Ralph scene made up for that a little bit. As Grant explained, the animals are extra aggressive and defensive because they haven't reached equilibrium yet. This is actually something from the first novel, where many animals died during the Incident while trying to adjust to the new changes. There are way more predators and Troodon than there should be because of the unauthorized breeding that InGen didn't know about. If the characters ever do return to Nublar in about a decade or so, the ecosystem would be more balanced and the creatures less violent. This applies to the mainland as well, because those dinosaurs were also experiencing the same confusion that lead to defensiveness and aggression. So I do think that the darker tone in this story is somewhat justified because of the chaotic state that the island and the dinosaurs would be in. Give it time and I imagine that Nublar would be an Eden until disturbed once again by humanity. A lot of this is because of how InGen treated their assets, but that's another rant for another time.**

**Anyway, the final iteration and the climax of the story is next. We're not quite done with the dark stuff yet, unfortunately, as the glowing eyes watching Grant and Billy from the dark would suggest. The seventh iteration will hopefully be out soon and I hope you enjoy it as well. Please leave a review with your thoughts, your support very appreciated.**


	7. Seventh Iteration

**Here it is, the grand finale of The Chaos Continues! Last iteration was honestly a breather for the characters, but unfortunately they're not out of danger yet. That was just the calm before the storm and the storm is about to hit them full blast...**

**And by the way, this is longer than any chapter before in The Chaos Continues and The Isla Nublar Incident! It the first iteration to go over 10,000 words!**

* * *

**Seventh Iteration**

"_Increasingly, the mathematics will demand the courage to face its implications."_

-IAN MALCOLM

Grant was starting to drift off when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He whisked around and sighed in relief when he saw that it was just Sonya.

"I'll take over for the rest of your shift," Sonya volunteered. "Get some rest."

Grant nodded. "Thank you." He went to get some sleep and Sonya sat next to Billy.

"You couldn't get any sleep?" Billy asked her.

"I won't allow myself to relax until we're off this island," Sonya told him. "We're still in danger."

Billy heard something move in the dark. Was it another compy? He should make sure. Billy found a flare among his supplies and lit it up…

…Revealing the pack of Troodon that was lurking in the dark.

Billy screamed, dropping his flare as he raised his gun and let off a burst of bullets. Everyone woke up, shouting and screaming in alarm.

Atlanta, blinded by panic took off down one of the many hallways in the building. "Atlanta, no!" Sarah cried, and ran after her.

One Troodon lunged forward and sank its teeth into Billy's calf. The mercenary cried out in pain and tried desperately to shake the monster loose, to no avail. A second Troodon was coiling to pounce on him...

When suddenly, with a burst of gunfire, dropped to the ground, dead, courtesy of Lawala.

"Everyone go!" Lawala shouted as he helped Billy stand, using one arm to support the wounded mercenary and the other to shoot his gun.

"Follow me!" shouted Grant.

"This is for Muldoon," Lawala said to himself, firing another burst of gunfire at the Troodon.

Sonya took Billy from Lawala and helped Billy follow the others while Lawala fought the Troodon off.

Everybody heard Raul scream and Grant caught a glimpse of the injured man being dragged off into the darkness by several Troodon. Lawala saw this and fired, but it was too late. Raul was gone.

Grant had no idea where to go. He could hear the storm going on outside and the clicks of the Troodon behind them. All he knew was that they had to put distance between them and the Troodon.

"Lawala, come on!"

"Go on without me!" Lawala insisted, driven by his desire to avenge Muldoon.

Harding noticed something as he followed Grant. "Where's Atlanta and Sarah?" he asked, horrified. They were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Atlanta slowed down. Her heart was racing wildly and her thoughts were askew. She couldn't register anything, anything, that is, besides the fervent desire to find a safe place where she could hide.

She noticed a small closet to her left, went to it, opened the door, and went inside. She sat down on the floor and pulled her legs close to her chest and began to cry.

She heard Sarah's voice in the distance: "Atlanta!"

* * *

"We have to find them," said Harding firmly.

"Yes," agreed Sonya, her voice was hollow; obviously she was thinking about Raul.

In the distance, they heard Lawala screaming.

"He's dying!" snarled Billy. The wounded merc pulled his gun out of Sonya's hands and began hobbling back to the room where Lawala was.

"No, Billy! Let me go. You protect them!" said Grant.

"No Alan!" Ellie protested.

Grant grabbed her hand. "Then come with me." She nodded. Together, the two of them raced back the direction they had come.

"We have to find Sarah and Atlanta," Harding reiterated.

"Yes," Sonya nodded in agreement. "Come on. They can't have gotten far."

She, Harding, Billy, and Wu headed off into the darkness in search of their missing companions.

* * *

Atlanta saw Sarah's dark silhouette in the closet's door frame. "Atlanta?"

The girl whimpered in response.

Sarah kneeled down and gave Atlanta a comforting hug. "It's okay," she told Atlanta. "It's okay."

* * *

Lawala threw down a flash grenade and the sudden brightness caused the Troodon to flee. Lawala relaxed slightly and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily as he bled from his wounds. The Troodon had gotten him.

"Dammit…" he swore, tearing off a bit of his shirt and using it as a bandage. He still had the venom to worry about.

He knew that the Troodon would be back soon and he needed to catch up to the others. He checked his gun and made sure he still had ammo. Then he heard something.

A door opening. Footsteps. He saw flashlights.

"There's one," said a voice.

Lawala heard a gunshot and he fell back as a bullet passed through him.

The Biosyn mercenaries started searching the building for other survivors while Lawala used his last moments to think about how he would now be reunited with Muldoon. Before he died he heard the distant clicks of the Troodon.

* * *

Grant paused in front of the door. He heard voices; not Lawala's. Then whose?

Only one answer came to mind, and it set his heart racing with fear. He grabbed Ellie's hand and quickly pulled her back the other way, motioning for her to stay silent.

When they had gone a few feet, Ellie asked, "What? What's wrong?"

"I heard people. Not Lawala. It must be the mercenaries who shot at us," he quickly explained.

Ellie's face drained of color. Suddenly, the door burst open. A mercenary raised his gun and let off a burst of fire; Grant jumped to the floor, pulling Ellie with him; the two of them crawled behind a wall, then stood up and ran as the mercenaries gave chase.

* * *

The mercenaries had split up to search the building in teams of two. That was their mistake.

Two of the Biosyn mercenaries patrolled a hallway, shining their flashlights ahead of them. One of them heard a clicking sound.

"Do you hear something?" she asked her partner, turning to him. But he was no longer there, his flashlight laying on the ground. She picked it up and called out to him.

She was answered by a clicking sound. Turning around, she was met by the eyes of a group of Troodon.

The mercenary opened her mouth but no sound came out. She tried to lift her gun, but she was too slow. A Troodon pounced on her and others joined the fun.

* * *

Sorkin heard the faint clicking sound in the distance.

"We need to get out of here," she told the leader of the mercenaries and his second-in-command.

"Why's that?" he asked her.

"Because there are dangerous creatures hunting in the shadows. They thrive in the dark. We are at a disadvantage."

The leader ignored her and forced Sorkin along. He wasn't going to let her out of his sight.

* * *

Sarah managed to coax Atlanta to stand up. Shaking, Atlanta looked around in the dark. "Where are they?" she asked.

"Who? The others?"

"No. The Troodon."

Sarah's muscles tightened. "I don't know. Come on. We should find the others."

At that moment, they heard distant screaming. Sarah's heart began to pound with fear. Who was that? Grant? Her father? Wu? Grabbing Atlanta's hand, she began to pull the young girl back the way they had come.

* * *

"Hello?" Harding called into the darkness. "Sarah! Atlanta!"

Sonya shone her flashlight around. "I don't see them anywhere."

"Well, they can't have gone far," Harding brusquely said.

The group walked on for a couple more meters before coming to a dead end.

"Great. Now what?" Billy asked.

Sonya heard hissing behind her, and slowly turned around. A Troodon stood at the end of the dark hallway, its pale eyes glowing in the darkness.

Sonya trembled with fear.

"Come on!" Billy opened a door and shoved them all in.

Coincidentally, it lead to the elevator. With no other choice, the group entered the elevator. Wu pressed a button. The elevator started going down.

"Where are we going?" Sonya asked.

"To the aquarium," Wu told her. "There's a backup generator down there somewhere. If we can find it, we might be able to restore power to this building."

"Great!" Sonya said ecstatically.

* * *

Grant and Ellie heard the mercenaries chasing after them through the maze of dark hallways. Suddenly the sounds of pursuing footsteps were replaced by pain-filled screams. Grant and Ellie did not dare to look behind them, but they knew what had happened thanks to a familiar clicking call.

Grant knew that they wouldn't last much longer like this, with the Troodon picking off the human prey in the dark one by one. It was only a matter of time before he and Ellie ran out of places to run.

Suddenly, they came upon a dead end. They spun around, but found that the hallway was blocked by those pairs of eyes that Grant had learned to fear. He and Ellie were trapped.

"Oh no," Ellie whimpered. "Alan, what do we do?"

Grant had no idea. He held tightly onto Ellie's hand as the Troodon advanced on the cornered couple.

* * *

Sarah and Atlanta ran back into the room where they had tried to get sleep earlier. The screams they had heard died down. A nearby compy shrieked and was suddenly cut off as it was killed. Then the killer clicked in the darkness.

Atlanta stared into the shadows and a Troodon stared back at her. Sarah pulled out her machete and got in front of the young girl.

Atlanta remembered something and she began feeling around in the dark for something. The pair of eyes crept closer and Sarah blindly swung at the lurking creature. She didn't strike anything and the Troodon seemed amused at her attempts to fight him off. He had the advantage.

And luckily Atlanta remembered his weakness. She found one of the hand-crank lanterns from earlier and she surprised the Troodon when the room flooded with unexpected weakness.

As the blinded Troodon hissed, Sarah could see her adversary and she swung. Blood splattered all over the floor.

Sarah wiped blood off her face, hands trembling. She couldn't believe she just did that.

* * *

Wu led Sonya, Billy and Harding down a long corridor to a power breaker at the end of the hall. He opened the latch and began switching the switches.

A second later, glaring artificial light filled the corridor. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Good job Doc," Sonya remarked. "Now, let's find the others."

* * *

The Troodon steadily approached Grant and Ellie, jaws dripping with saliva. Grant quickly looked around for an escape, but there was none. He braced himself for what would surely be a painful end.

But then, the corridor filled with light. The Troodon hissed and quickly retreated to the shadows. Grant looked at Ellie, unable to believe their fortune.

"How'd they get the power on?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know, and I don't care. Come on." Grant led her down the corridor.

* * *

When power suddenly came on and the building flooded with artificial light, the leader of the Biosyn mercenaries tried to use his radio to communicate with the other members of the group. He got no response. There was only him, his second-in-command, and Sorkin left.

"The rest of your team was picked off by Troodon," Sorkin explained. "I told you we were at a disadvantage in the darkness. But you didn't listen to me. And now we're all that's left."

The mercenary wanted to snap at Sorkin, but she was unfortunately right. "You're the InGen expert," he admitted. "Any advice?"

"The only way they could have restored power is with the backup generator," Sorkin explained. "Luckily, I know where it is. If we hurry we might be able to find Wu's group while they're still there."

The mercenary nodded. "Lead the way."

Sorkin guided the two mercenaries through the building and they followed. It was about time that she was in charge.

* * *

Billy, Harding, Sonya, and Wu were walking back to the elevator. The doors opened before they got to it. Wu's group was surprised to see two Biosyn mercenaries pointing their guns at them and…

"Sorkin!" Wu recognized, shocked.

"Hello, Henry," Sorkin said confidently. "As you can see, I made a few new friends. We're helping each other out. And part of our partnership is making sure that you don't leave this island alive. I'll also be taking my journal back…"

* * *

"Sarah, are you okay?" Atlanta asked the trembling woman.

Sarah nodded, coming to her senses. "Yeah. Looks like somebody found a way to turn on the lights."

"Good," Atlanta realized. "Those things can only attack us in the dark."

Sarah looked down at the dead Troodon. "I can't believe I killed one."

"It was only a matter of time before they met their match," Atlanta told Sarah. "You were a total badass."

Sarah smiled. "Thanks."

Atlanta and Sarah heard the building's doors open and something escaping the storm outside. Atlanta and Sarah fled as whatever it was let out a terrifying shriek.

* * *

Grant and Ellie heard the inhuman shriek. And unfortunately, Grant recognized it. He had hoped never to hear such an animal again.

"Velociraptor," he realized in dread. The shriek was followed by several others. "And it's not alone."

"This just keeps getting better," Ellie said sarcastically.

"Come on," Grant told her. "We need to find the others."

Together they ran away from the raptor shrieks and towards what they hoped were fellow humans.

* * *

"What are you going to do with us?" Sonya questioned Sorkin.

Sorkin quirked an eyebrow. "Wu is the one I need. The rest of you are expendable."

"So you'll just gun us down like dogs?" Billy spat.

Sorkin nodded, "Yes."

"You're a monster," Wu told her.

"Monsters are made, not born. Remember that Henry. Now come on!" She grabbed Wu's arm, trying to force him along, but Wu refused to budge.

"Swear that you won't hurt them," he said, gesturing to Sonya, Billy and Harding. Sorkin raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"When did the egotistical Henry Wu suddenly start caring about the lives of others?" she asked.

"You've heard my terms. Spare them and I'll go with you. Kill them, and I'll make sure your plans never come to fruition. I promise you that."

"You're in no position to be making threats," Sorkin retorted. "Darrel," she said to the lead mercenary, "kindly hand-cuff our friend Henry, and shoot his friends."

Darrel raised his rifle.

Suddenly a Velociraptor came out of nowhere and tackled Darrel to the ground. Darrel screamed as claws dug into his skin and jaws closed around his head.

"Holy shit!" Darrel's second-in-command swore. He lifted his gun to save his leader, but Wu lunged forward and tackled the man to the ground, grabbing his gun.

Harding saw more Velociraptors entering the aquarium. They must have gotten down here through the maintenance entrance.

Wu noticed the other raptors and he released the man he was wrestling. Wu got up and took off running, but the mercenary wasn't so lucky. A raptor noticed the second-in-command trying to crawl away. The raptor leaped upon the man and the dinosaur's victim began to scream.

Harding noticed Grant and Ellie in the elevator, beckoning the survivors to come over to them. Harding, Billy, and Sonya began making their way toward the elevator, knowing it was only a matter of time before they were spotted by the raptors that were now spreading out and patrolling the area.

Wu, however, didn't see Grant and Ellie. He began climbing up to the walkways that hung over the aquarium's tanks in an attempt to get away from the raptors.

Laura Sorkin followed.

Neither of them noticed the dark shape swimming beneath the waters of the nearest tank…

* * *

Back at the mainland, it seemed like the storm was going to miss them. The sky was still dark and some of the survivors of last night's attack had raided the local bar. They had gotten drunk and were now hanging out on a beach.

Two of the drunks challenged each other to a race to the nearby buoy. As they swam out into the ocean, something large began heading toward them.

"What is that, a log?" one of them asked after they had reached the buoy.

As the shape began moving closer, they got a better look. They recognized what looked like the backside of a huge creature and a crocodile-like head. Their eyes widened in horror. When the head revealed jaws full of teeth, the swimmers screamed and tried to head back to shore. But the creature was too close. One of the swimmers looked back and saw the creature biting down on his buddy, dragging the poor man beneath the now bloody waters.

The swimmer reached shore, exhausted and terrifying. "Crocodile!" he warned the others on the beach.

But it was no crocodile. The man screamed help as a full-sized Baryonyx came out of the water behind him. Teeth bit down on the man's arm and he was thrown helplessly into the air like a doll.

The Baryonyx roared and charged the other people on the beach. They scattered, but could not outrun the carnivorous dinosaur who had just swam from Isla Nublar and was very hungry.

Once the beach was empty of all life except the Baryonyx, the creature began making its way to the nearest settlement… a local fishing village that still had no power.

* * *

"Henry!" Sorkin shouted. Wu turned. Sorkin stood at the other end of the walkway, gun in hand, pointed right at him.

"You're coming with me whether you like it or not," Sorkin told him.

Wu glanced down into the tank. He saw a large, black shape moving through the water. The Tylosaurus. Looking back at Sorkin, Wu realized that Sorkin was so focused on him that she hadn't noticed the marine reptile lurking just beneath the surface.

"You can't win," Wu said. "Your plan was poorly executed. Shameful, really. I expected better from you."

Sorkin's face twisted with rage and she fired her gun. Wu felt excruciating pain in his left shoulder. The force of the bullet knocked him onto his back. He screamed.

"Fool," Sorkin spat as she started down the walkway toward him. "Now, get up before I have to put another hole in you."

Wu stared up at his enemy with hatred. "Why don't you just give up?"

Sorkin smiled. "Because I'm like you. I don't just give up."

"Henry!" That was Grant! Wu looked to his left. Dr. Grant stood near the elevator. He raised the gun in his hand and took careful aim. He fired several times in quick succession. Sorkin screamed as the bullets ripped through her. She staggered, but didn't fall. Wu knew what he had to do…

Wu slammed his body into Sorkin. The woman screamed and lost her balance, falling off the walkway and into the water tank below. Wu saw Sorkin go under and surface, gasping for breath and cursing. She then felt something touch her foot and she noticed the dark shape that was moving beneath her. Sorkin's eyes widened in terror. It was the Tylosaurus. Sorkin froze, hoping that the Tylosaurus wouldn't notice her.

"Wu, you bastard!" she screamed, but Wu was already running away. Even he couldn't bear to watch what was about to happen to Sorkin. His shoulder hurt like hell, but he didn't slow down. He climbed down from the walkway and started heading toward the elevator. A raptor shrieked and he knew he had been spotted, but he kept running. Finally, he dashed into the elevator and Grant shut the door behind him in the face of a pursuing raptor. The last sound Wu heard before the doors closed was Sorkin cursing him and screaming.

Wu tried to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" Harding asked him.

Wu nodded. "My shoulder got shot though."

Wu then noticed a bag that Harding had with him. "Is that?"

Harding nodded. "Your research."

Wu smiled, ignoring the pain. "At least this wasn't all for nothing."

"I hope it was worth it," Billy scowled. "Good people died for that research."

Ellie glanced around at the faces in the elevator, to make sure everyone was here. Grant, Harding, Billy, Sonya, and Wu. Wait… was that all? This was all that made it?

"We've got to find Sarah and Atlanta now," said Harding in a commanding voice.

Oh yeah, Ellie thought with relief; Sarah and Atlanta were out there somewhere.

Wu took in a breath. He was trembling a little from his confrontation with Sorkin. A hollow light had entered his eyes; Ellie recognized it. It was the kind of look you got when you knew your actions had resulted in the death of another human being. No matter how vile Sorkin had been, human life is human life and taking one away does something to your soul. Ellie almost very sorry for Wu, but then she remembered that it was his actions that resulted in the deaths of most of their group.

Wu took in a steadying breath and said, calmly and complacently, "They could be anywhere in here. Perhaps it would be better if we left and waited for rescue to arrive."

One look at Harding's face told Wu that wasn't an option. He sighed in defeat; "Fine: let's get started."

"We should split up," Sonya suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way."

"No," Grant rebutted. "No more splitting up. We stay together; all of us; from now on. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now, let's find Sarah and the girl."

The elevator doors opened up and Grant spotted a man standing in the hallway in front of them, pointing a gun at the group. It was one of the mercenaries hired by Biosyn. The man's arm was shaking unsteadily and Grant noticed some bite marks. He realized that the mercenary must have been attacked by a Troodon and escaped, but not unscathed.

"Get away from me!" the man screamed. "Go back to the hell you came from!"

The man was acting paranoid, delusional. He must be hallucinating, Grant though as he recalled the side effects of Troodon venom mentioned by Wu earlier.

"You're not thinking straight," Grant tried to reason. "The animal that bit you was venomous and its venom is making you more violent. Put down the gun and we can help you."

"Lies!" the maddened mercenary screamed. "Do not attempt to deceive me, demon! You will not claim my soul!"

Billy realized that there was no way to talk this guy down. He had to act now. If he was lucky, he could take the mercenary down before the guy killed someone.

He lifted his gun and fired, the bullet soaring through the mercenary's body while the hired gun was raging about the 'monsters trying to corrupt him.' The Biosyn mercenary fell, but not before instinctively pulling the trigger.

"Grant!" Ellie screamed, trying to pull Grant out of the shot's path. The bullet struck her instead and she hit the floor, bleeding out.

"Dammit!" Billy cursed. He was supposed to protect these people, but he kept failing them. First, their plane got wrecked by the Rex. Then, the attack on the safari lodge. And now, everything that had happened here. He couldn't save D-Caf, Edgar, Oscar, Raul, or Ellie… he slumped back, feeling useless and responsible for all the deaths.

"No!" Grant shouted, rushing to Ellie's side. Harding rushed over as well, checking her injuries and seeing if there was anything he could do about it. There wasn't. Ellie had only seconds to live.

"Ellie, don't go!" Grant screamed, crying. "We were supposed to stick together this time! Please, not like this!"

"I'm sorry for not staying with you all the way," Ellie said weakly. "But carry on for me, okay? Get off this damn island and go home."

"I can't go back without you," Grant told Ellie.

Tears were in Ellie's eyes. "You have to, Alan. These people are depending on you to help them. Especially, Atlanta. She's just a kid. You have to focus on getting them to the mainland safely. Please do that for me."

Grant nodded. "Of course. I love you, Ellie."

Ellie smiled sadly. "I love you too. I'm sorry it has to end now, there was so much I was looking forward to. But I don't regret putting myself in front of that bullet. Goodbye, Alan."

"Goodbye," Grant said, kissing Ellie softly on the lips. When he pulled away, Ellie was gone.

Wu saw Atlanta and Sarah appear, having followed the sound of gunshots. They froze when they saw the dead mercenary and Ellie's motionless body, Grant weeping over her. For a moment, nobody moved. Then Atlanta walked over and gave Grant a comforting hug. Grant hugged back.

Harding put a hand on Grant's shoulder, but Grant shrugged him off. He pushed Atlanta away and reached down to pick up Ellie's head in his hands. He cried softly.

Harding looked at Billy, "We have to go." There was no time to waste. But Billy was just as uncooperative as Grant. He was slumped against the wall, staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

"Billy," Harding said again. Slowly, Billy turned his gaze onto Harding. "What?" His voice was dull and lifeless.

"We can't hang around here. More dinosaurs are on the way. We have to go now," Harding said. Sarah nodded in agreement.

Sarah spoke in a calm and gentle voice: "Alan, I am so sorry about Ellie, but we can't stay here. She'll have died for nothing if we can't find our way out of this place."

Grant said nothing, but slowly he placed Ellie's head down on the cold cement and rose on shaking limbs. Without a word or a glance to anyone, he stumbled through a door. A moment later everyone else followed.

"Where is the way out of this place?" Sonya questioned wearily.

There was no immediate response, eventually Wu answered the question: "I think Grant's got the right idea. If we just keep heading in this direction, we should be out of here in no time."

"Thank you God," Harding murmured.

The group continued down the hallway eventually leading them to the exit. Grant pushed open the doors and stumbled out into the open air. Everyone else followed.

"Did anyone manage to call for help?" Sarah asked.

"I did," Grant stated, his voice flat. He didn't say anything more.

The group wandered back to the car and got in. Harding got behind the wheel and started the engine up. They drove back down the road leading them to the beach.

It was still raining and Harding found it hard to see what was on the road in front of him, so he drove slowly. He didn't want to risk an accident, especially after all that had happened to them. Everyone was silent, the only sounds being from the rain and the car.

Harding heard what sounded like thunder nearby… except that it came without lightning before. Odd. Harding listened closely, trying to hear over the rain. There it was again. The thunder without lightning. It was getting louder and closer.

"Does anyone hear that?" he asked the others. When he got no answer, he decided to focus on his driving.

Maybe it wasn't thunder, Harding thought. Maybe it's… maybe it's a tremor.

Finally, there was lightning. The dark road in front of them was illuminated… revealing the Tyrannosaurus Rex standing there.

Harding screamed and tried to move out of the colossal animal's way.

And a new sound filled the air. That terrifying roar that filled the Rex's victims with fear and dread.

Harding slammed the gear shift into reverse and put his foot to the floor. The jeep lurched backward. Harding looked into the T-Rex's yellow reptilian eyes. She looked like she was grinning…

The colossal animal leapt forward with surprising agility and began to give chase. Harding spun the jeep around, the tires skidding through the mud. The front was now facing in the opposite direction. Without missing a beat Harding slammed the gear shift into forward gear and stomped on the gas. The jeep lurched forward; the back of Harding's head connected painfully with his headrest. Harding looked in the rear-view mirror; the T-Rex was gaining! Then he heard a callous burst of gunfire and glanced to the side to see Billy opening fire on the pursuing dinosaur. The T-Rex let out a roar of pain as bullets seared her scaly flesh. Thunder roared over their heads.

"Must go faster," Wu told Harding, looking back at the jaws that was closing in on them.

"Shit!" Atlanta screamed. "Shit! Shit!"

"Look out!" Billy shouted, glancing at the road ahead.

Harding, momentarily distracted, saw the fallen tree hanging over the road. There was no way to avoid it. "Down!" he told the others.

Everyone ducked as the car's roof was ripped off by the tree, which itself was smashed by the pursuing Rex.

The Rex attempted to flip the car over, but couldn't make a good hit. She roared in frustration, the humans feeling her hot breath.

Finally, tired of the chase, the Rex let out a final growl and lumbered off, giving up on her prey.

Harding gave a sigh of relief.

Harding drove onward, almost as if in a dream. For several moments there was absolute silence from the occupants in the car as everyone tried to catch their breath. Finally, Harding broke the silence. "We can't go that way with the Rex there. Wu… is there an alternate path to the beach?"

Wu thought for a moment then said, "Yes. Right ahead. There should be a fork in the road…"

A few seconds later they came to the fork. "Now what?" Harding asked.

"Right," Wu told him.

Harding turned right. They drove for about five minutes, the night rain pounding down on them. With the roof gone there was nothing to shield them from the elements, and within seconds everyone was soaking wet - not that they cared.

"Wait," Wu said. "I think it was left."

Harding turned to him, incredulous. "You sent us down the wrong way?!"

Wu rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry… I'm just so tired…"

Harding cursed and turned the car around. That was when he saw it: a Parasaurolophus had lumbered onto the road and was drinking from a puddle in the road. Rain dripped down the animal's magnificent muscular hide. Behind him, Harding heard Atlanta let out a small moan. "Don't worry," he assured her. "It's a Parasaur. They're friendly dinosaurs."

The Parasaur didn't seem to notice the car nor the human occupants; it just went on drinking as though they didn't exist. Finally, after several moments the dinosaur stood upright and lumbered back into the trees. Harding eased forward carefully in case it decided to come back. When the Parasaur's tail had disappeared into the trees, he increased the speed and drove on.

Eventually, the car came to a stop and Harding came to an awful realization. "No, no, no…"

"What happened?" Billy asked. "Why did we stop?"

"We ran out of gas," Harding groaned. "We're going to have to walk."

Everyone else groaned as well.

"I don't know how much more I can take," Billy grumbled as he got out. "How far is the beach, Wu?"

"A little more than a mile, I think," Wu replied. "Though I'm not sure how long it might take us to get there."

"Want me to carry you?" Sarah asked the tired Atlanta.

"No," Atlanta said, shaking his head. "I'll be fine. Let's just keep going."

The Rex roared in the distance.

"Is he close?" Atlanta asked in a whisper.

"She," Wu corrected. "And don't worry, she's far away."

"Good," Sonya nodded. "Hopefully that's one less problem we have to worry about. And the more distance we put between us and the Rex, the better."

Grant hadn't said a word in a while. Sonya noticed this and walked over to him.

"I would ask if you're okay, but you're obviously not," she told him. "And I completely understand. You just lost somebody you loved. That has to be painful to process. But right now I need to count on you. We need to count on you. The kid needs to count on you."

"You're right," Grant agreed. "Let's go."

Sonya patted him on the shoulder. "Good man. It's not easy, but you can pull through. I think that's what Ellie would have wanted."

The group of survivors then moved out.

* * *

Jess sat on Malcolm's bed in the mathematician's new hospital room. He was teetering on the edge of consciousness; the doctor, Carter, had just given him another dose of morphine to help with the pain, and he was almost out.

"Ian?" Jess asked.

"Mmm?" Malcolm murmured drowsily, his voice slurred.

"Do you think my father and sister are alive?" Her voice trembled even as she said it.

Malcolm forced his eyes open, forced himself into wakefulness. He wanted to say something comforting, but found he couldn't construe the words. All he got out in the end was: "I'm sure they're fine." He then fell unconscious.

Jess got up from the bed and walked to the door. Looking out, she saw villagers, men and women, and even some children, hard at work cleaning up the messes of blood and gore in the hallways, barring the windows, and doing their best to make the conditions more bearable for the injured. Jess wanted to help, but the doctor, Carter, had instructed her to stay by Malcolm's side in case he needed something. So she would, but she didn't like it.

This would be a better job for Kelly, she thought. But she knew Kelly was off lending a hand somewhere.

She saw Ray Arnold in the hallway, coming toward her. He had fresh bandages on his arms and chest, and he looked weary and in pain. "Hi," Jess said to him. He looked at her, and offered a smile before passing on. Jess sighed and went back into the room, closing the door behind her.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled a small book out. It was a pocket version of the New Testament her father had bought for her. She opened it and read some of the verses, finding comfort in the reassuring words.

Then a loud roar filled the air, followed by screams. Jess ran over to the window and saw a Baryonyx entering the village, roaring at the small humans trying to get indoors. "Holy shit!" Jess screamed, eyes widening.

She spotted several men with guns firing at the creature. Eduardo was among them. The bullets struck the dinosaur and it roared again, this time in pain. Pissed off and hungry, the dinosaur charged and scattered the men. Jess saw the Baryonyx pin Eduardo and bite down. The man screamed and she closed her eyes, unable to watch.

Jess turned away. She wondered if she should try to find Arnold or Carter, but she didn't want to leave Malcolm alone. So she chose to stay.

She looked at the pocket bible and got an idea. She bent down on her knees and started praying. For her father. For her sister. For Dr. Malcolm. For everyone. It was the only thing she could think of doing to help her family.

She could still hear the Baryonyx's rampage going on outside and she remembered something that Malcolm had once told her on Isla Nublar.

God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.

_And dinosaurs eat man_, Jess thought grimly to herself.

* * *

Harding led the way through the drudgery, hugging his sides to preserve warmth. Around them the storm raged, unleashing all the might and fury it contained onto the fragile humans below. Each step was an ordeal. At some point they would inevitably collapse from exhaustion, and likely never rise again. Still, Harding kept the group moving with shouts of encouragement. He had to scream in order to be heard above the sound of the gale, and soon his throat began to burn with pain. Still he persisted because what else could he do?

Finally after what felt like hours, Harding spotted the sandy shore through the cracks in the foliage. Encouraged, he quickened his pace, not stopping to see if his companions would do the same. A few minutes later he found himself emerging from the treeline and onto the beach. He looked around; there was no sign of any rescue. Maybe they hadn't come yet, or had been delayed by the storm. One thing was for sure: they couldn't stay out in the open like this. A predator would pick them off before they had the chance to be rescued. Turning, Harding shouted to his companions, "We have to find shelter!"

Sonya, dripping and shivering from the cold, nodded. She pointed to an alcove just ahead; "What about there?" she asked.

Harding studied the alcove and nodded. "Good!" He started toward the small cave, and the others followed.

The inside of the cave was mostly dry. There were a few puddles on the floor, but aside from that, it looked fine. Before he could go in, Harding was restrained by Billy. "Wait," the mercenary said. "We have to make sure it's safe."

Harding nodded. Billy reached into his pocket and pulled out a flare. He lit it and threw it into the cave. Harding peered in. The light of the flare was weak, but it illuminated most of the cave, and from what Harding could see there were no other occupants. Satisfied, he crouched and ducked inside, and the others followed.

Atlanta sat down, feeling tired and cold. She shivered. Sarah sat next to her and Atlanta cuddled up to the woman to stay warm. Harding joined them. They all felt exhausted.

Wu checked the bag with his research to make sure it hadn't been damaged. He sighed in relief when he saw that it was all still intact. After everything that had been lost, he would have hated for all this to have been for nothing. He had the journal of Sorkin as well, which was also a win. But as he looked around at the other survivors, he couldn't help but wonder if it was even worth it. Or if they would even get off this island alive. The rescue still hadn't come yet and anything could happen before them.

Billy found some dry pieces of wood at the back of the cave and he made a fire for them to huddle around to stay dry. After everything they've been through, it would be a shame to freeze to death.

"When do you think they'll get here?" Grant asked.

"I imagine that the storm is delaying them," Billy answered honestly. "So it depends when it passes."

Billy heard snoring and he saw that Atlanta had fallen asleep between Sarah and Harding. Good. It would be wise to get some rest.

Grant laid down on the cave's floor. He was quiet, but couldn't sleep.

Billy checked his gun. He had very little ammo left, so he had to make each bullet count. Hopefully, he wouldn't need to use his gun. He heard squeaking sounds and he saw several compys running into the cave. They curled up around the fire. They made Billy uneasy, but he doubted that they were a threat. It looked like they just wanted to wait out the storm too. It was the bigger dinos that he was worried about.

Soon Wu and the Hardings were sleeping as well, their exhaustion kicking it. The only ones awake were Billy, Sonya, and maybe Grant.

"I don't think I've said it yet, but I'm sorry about Raul," Billy said to Sonya as he watched the cave's entrance.

"I didn't know him well," Sonya told him. "But he still didn't deserve to die."

Billy nodded. "Still, it's up to us to get the others home. I think we're the only ones capable of protecting them."

"And each other," Sonya added. "I understand that you lost people close to you, Billy. But I appreciate that you were able to keep it together. For them."

"They're my responsibility. It's what Oscar would have wanted."

"Billy, get some sleep."

"What?"

"You deserve it. I'll keep watch."

Billy hesitated, trying to decide if he should trust her or not. He remembered that her former employers, Biosyn, did try to kill her as well. And so far Sonya had been nothing but cooperative. "Alright. I trust you. Thanks."

He nodded at Sonya respectfully and laid down, closing his eyes. Sonya kept watch, ready to defend these people with her life if she had to.

* * *

Trey had heard the commotion outside, the roaring and the screaming, and dropped what he was doing, which had been boarding up a window, and ran outside. He was astonished and shocked by what he saw. A Baryonyx stood on the beach, attacking anyone in sight. Even as Trey watched, the megaton beast lashed a woman with its talons. A second later the woman fell dead, her blood staining the white sand. The Baryonyx roared again.

Trey thought about going back inside, hiding. But he couldn't just leave these people to die. It was his time to do something. He looked around and saw a gun lying on the beach and he ran to it, plucking it from the ground. He turned the weapon over in his hands, trying to get an understanding for it. When he looked back up, the baryonyx was looking at him with those reptilian eyes.

Before Trey could fire, a sound caught his attention and the dinosaur's attention as well. Trey noticed lights in the night sky approaching. Helicopters, he realized. They were helicopters.

The Baryonyx forgot Trey and roared at the helicopters above him. Lights shone down on the theropod. The Baryonyx's roars were then drowned out by the sounds of gunfire. Bullets struck the flesh of the dinosaur and the creature roared in pain.

The helicopters continued to fire down on the Baryonyx and several spectators gave a cheer. Help had finally arrived.

The Baryonyx spun around and tried to flee, but the helicopters pursued. Trey let out a sigh of relief and relaxed.

* * *

Howard King ran through the jungle, lungs searing and muscles burning with effort. The dinosaur was right behind him. He could feel its rancid breath on the back of his neck. He pushed himself to run faster; maybe, just maybe he could make it.

The next moment, he felt himself pushed to the ground. The dinosaur roared in triumph as it stood atop his back. Howard rolled over, and threw his hands up in a vain attempt to protect his face from the jaws and teeth. He felt teeth close around his neck, and he screamed. Then he opened his eyes. The jungle was gone. The dinosaur was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a woman hunched over him, her face inches from his own. Her hands were on his cheeks. She was speaking but the words seemed distant. Slowly, Howard began to calm down. He stopped thrashing, and his heartbeat calmed. He was able to take in his surroundings: small room, white walls. He was lying on a bed with soft sheets draped over him. And the woman- she was his wife. And she was talking to him; telling him it was okay and that he was safe.

Howard began to weep.

* * *

The Baryonyx gave a dying roar and collapsed from his injuries, his body full of bullet holes. Having lost too much blood and sustained too many wounds, the great creature fell. The corpse rested motionless, the threat of the dinosaur over.

After making sure that the danger was successfully neutralized, the helicopters circled the fishing village and finally landed. Soldiers climbed out. Their arrival filled others with hope.

The situation was finally under control.

* * *

The storm had finally passed. The sky was still full of dark clouds, but at least the rain had ended.

Sonya didn't let her guard down. Not after everything that had happened. Then she heard something. And she smiled.

She went over to the sleeping Billy and poked him. "Hey, Billy."

"What?" the man asked sleepily, yawning.

"Do you hear that?" Sonya asked, listening.

Billy listened as well and heard it too. "Helicopters," he realized. "Helicopters!"

He quickly woke the others up and ran onto the beach, firing a flare into the air. Thankfully, that got the attention of the rescue helicopters.

The survivors shouted and waved their arms as one of the helicopters circled overhead. A ladder was dropped down for them to climb up.

"You first," Harding told Atlanta. The girl nodded and started climbing. Sarah was next, following Atlanta up into the helicopter.

Grant looked back into the jungle before he started climbing, but then he froze when he heard a familiar sound.

A familiar hooting sound.

"Oh no," Grant realized in horror. They weren't out of this yet.

Billy had heard the sound, too. He pivoted on his heel to face the dark jungle, the trees still swaying in the wind. As he stood there, watching, about five or six small dinosaurs emerged from the foliage and stood there, staring at the humans. Billy shivered, and it wasn't because of the cold wind.

Then, the dinosaurs charged, sprinting toward him at full speed. Billy leveled his AK, took aim, and fired. A spray of bullets swept through the pack, downing two of the predators. There was still three left. Billy pulled the trigger, but nothing happened; he was out of bullets. "Sonya!" He cried.

"Get to the helicopter, Billy!" Sonya shouted, pulling out her own gun. But before she could fire, the dinosaurs fired their own projectiles. One of the creatures snapped their head back and shot a black glob at Sonya. She ducked the first one, but the second glob struck her right in the face. Sonya screamed in pain as she was blinded by the poisonous spit. She lost her balance and fell back, clawing at her face in vain.

"No!" Billy screamed. He considered charging toward the dinosaurs, but he knew that it would only get him killed. Sonya might distract the dinosaurs for a while and his responsibility was still protecting Wu's group. Fighting back tears, he made sure that Harding and Wu were climbing up the ladder to safety.

Sonya screamed as the dinosaurs starting feasting on her. Billy tried to ignore her death cries and he turned away to start climbing as well, but then a glob of venom struck his shoulder. He hissed in pain, but fought against it and began heading up toward the helicopter. One of the dinosaurs continued spitting poison at him, but eventually gave up and focused on her fallen prey. Sonya's screams were finally silenced.

"I'm sorry," Billy said quietly to himself.

Billy climbed up the rest of the ladder, and was greeted by Sarah who helped him into the chopper.

"Where's Sonya?" The behaviorist asked.

Billy merely shook his head, unable and unwilling to form words.

Sarah staggered back in shock, and fell into her seat. A mercenary strapped on her seat belt. Billy was told to sit down. He complied, wordlessly, too numb to do anything else. He realized, slowly, that they were escaping. This chopper would take them back to the mainland. Far away from the dinosaurs. He felt it should be a moment of great celebration, but he hardly felt like celebrating. His friends Oscar and D-Caf, Edgar, Sattler, and now Sonya - none of them would be coming back.

What a waste, he thought miserably. What a terrible, terrible waste.

Then he looked up, and saw Henry Wu standing by the open door. An intense rage, blinding and fierce, swept over Billy. Without thinking he jumped from his seat and pushed Henry Wu, hard. The scientist staggered, eyes wide as he began to fall. He flailed desperately for something, anything to catch himself on.

Wu grabbed Billy's shirt and accidentally pulled the man out of the helicopter with him. Wu cried out as he fell, but luckily his fall was broken by the ocean below. Billy struck the water next to Wu.

"Damn you!" Billy screamed as he surfaced. "She's dead! They're all dead! Because of that research you value more than human life! This is all your fault!"

Wu tried to swim away from the maddened Billy. He heard the others calling him from the helicopter. Billy grabbed Wu and tried to push his head under the water. Wu tried to fight back, but it was no use. Billy had lost it.

Then there was another sound. A gunshot. Wu felt Billy's hands release him and he saw the man's motionless body floating in the water. Wu also felt something on him. He had blood on his hands. Billy's blood.

No. Not just Billy. D-Caf. Edgar. Oscar. Ellie. Sonya. Wu was guilty. It took a moment for Wu to realize that the ladder had been lowered down to him. Wu climbed back in and took his seat.

"Are you okay?" Harding asked.

Wu didn't reply. In fact, he didn't say anything for the rest of the trip back to the mainland.

A few days ago Wu had said the Isla Nublar Incident was only the beginning. But this was not what he wanted. This was not what he wanted at all.

He couldn't look Grant in the eyes anymore. Grant had lost the woman he loved because Wu had talked them into coming with him. Maybe Grant didn't blame him. But Wu blamed himself.

It should have been an easy in and out. But everything went wrong and people paid for it with their lives.

And now it was time to go home. They had people waiting for them in Costa Rica. People they didn't know had suffered tragedy as well.

* * *

Ian Malcolm opened his eyes, and saw Alan Grant sitting in a chair next to his bed.

"Morning," Malcolm said. It was, indeed, morning time. Sunlight was creeping in through the blinds and falling across Malcolm's bed. It brought an unexpected cheerfulness to the otherwise downtrodden hospital room.

"So how did it go?" Malcolm asked. "Did you get doctor Wu's research?"

Grant didn't look at Malcolm. He barely seemed to move. Malcolm recognized the dazed look in Grant's eyes; it was the glare of a man who had lost everything.

"Ellie's dead," Grant said.

Malcolm stared at him, unable to believe what the man had said. "What?"

Grant stared at the floor, silent.

"I'm sorry," Malcolm said. "Alan, I can't believe…"

"Wu got the research," Grant said. A note of unconcealed bitterness entered his voice. "According to him it was a successful mission."

"Edgar? The mercenaries?" Malcolm asked.

Grant shook his head. "All dead. Every single one."

"Wu won't get away with this," Malcolm vowed. He was trembling with anger, something he rarely - never - did. "We'll make him pay. And InGen. We'll sue them all. Sue them right into the ground…"

"What's the point?" Grant asked, his voice hollow, devoid of all emotion. "It won't change anything. Ellie is still dead."

"But we can stop them. From doing something like this again. We can prevent more deaths," Malcolm said.

Grant merely shrugged, and Malcolm knew that Grant had lost any will to keep fighting. As far as he was concerned, nothing mattered anymore.

* * *

Jess was shaken awake. Opening her eyes, she saw two familiar faces smiling down at her.

"Dad! Sarah!"

Jess leaped up and hugged her family tightly, refusing to let them go. She was overcome with relief.

Then she saw somebody at Sarah's side. A Costa Rican girl her age that she didn't recognize.

"Who's this?" Jess asked.

"Jess, meet Atlanta Cruz," her father introduced. "We're adopting her. She's going to be your new sister."

Jess smiled at Atlanta. "Welcome to the Harding family. It's nice to meet you."

Atlanta returned the smile. "You too."

"Come on girls," Harding told his daughters. "Let's go home."

* * *

Elena Morales was tending to the wounded. Thankfully, they had no shortage of medical supplies thanks to the arrival of the military.

Somebody cleared his throat and Elena turned around. It was one of the Americans, Dr. Alan Grant.

"Yes? Can I help you?

"Ms. Morales, it's about your brother, Oscar…"

Elena listened. And then she started to cry.

* * *

Malcolm demanded that he get out of bed to see the Hardings off. Tim and Lex had already left, Trey was taking them to their parents. But he was not going to miss saying goodbye to Dr. Harding and his family with Kelly.

Bobbie Carter accompanied Malcolm and helped him out.

"Goodbye, Ian," Jess said, hugging Malcolm. "Thanks for everything."

Malcolm affectionately ruffled her hair. "No problem, Jess."

"It was nice meeting you," Kelly told Jess with a smile.

Harding and Malcolm shook hands. "Where are you heading to?" Malcolm asked.

"San Diego," Harding explained. "Maybe the zoo will give me my old job back. I've had enough dinosaurs for a lifetime."

Malcolm cracked a smile. "Me too. I hope to see you around."

"What you did for Jess means a lot," Harding told him. "You'll always be a family friend."

Jess remembered something. "I almost forgot!" She handed a slip of paper to Malcolm. It had numbers on it.

"What's this?"

"Sarah's phone number."

"Jess!" Sarah blushed, embarrassed. Atlanta and Kelly giggled.

Malcolm watched the Hardings leave. Jess turned back to wave goodbye and Sarah looked back to offer a kind smile that Malcolm responded to with a wink.

"Come on Dr. Malcolm," Bobbie interrupted, leading Malcolm away. "Back to bed."

Kelly took Malcolm's hand, smiling up at her father. "Whatever happens next, we'll do it together. Right?"

Malcolm nodded. "Right."

* * *

InGen, the EPA, the FBI, the Costa Rican government, and even the United States military took part in the covering up of the mainland incidents, blaming it on wild animal attacks in order to prevent the truth from getting out. The survivors were interviewed, debriefed, and sworn into secrecy under threat of lawsuit or prosecution. This whole affair was a disaster and would be a major international embarrassment if it became public knowledge. The bodies of the dinosaurs were put in piles and destroyed with flamethrowers, the corpses being reduced to ashes as the real story was swept under the rug…

Wu watched the burnings from a helicopter. He hadn't talked to Harding or Grant since they landed, he couldn't face either of them. He was able to secure a flight back to San Diego with Ray Arnold, where Peter Ludlow would be waiting for him. Wu was sure that he wouldn't be blamed. The deceased Hammond was a convenient scapegoat and Wu was too valuable to the company, especially during troubled times.

But as much as Wu could blame Sorkin or Dodgson for everything, he still knew that some of the guilt was his. And there was something that troubled him. What had happened to Dodgson? Was he still alive? Did he escape? With Raul, Lawala, and Sonya dead, he had nothing to expose Biosyn's involvement with. The testimony of the survivors would not be good enough without actual proof. Maybe there was some back on Isla Nublar, but there was no way Wu was going back there.

But the most important question on Wu's mind was… Is it really over?

* * *

**Two months later…**

**Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico**

"Consider the numbers," Malcolm said, leaning on the podium, staring forward at his audience. "On our planet there are currently fifty million species of plants and animals. We think that is a remarkable diversity, yet it is nothing compared to what has existed before. We estimate that there have been fifty billion species on this planet since life began. That means that for every thousand species that ever existed on the planet, only one remains today. Thus 99.9 percent of all species that ever lived are extinct. And mass killings account for only five percent of that total. The overwhelming majority of species died one at a time. The truth is that life on Earth is marked by a continuous, steady rate of extinction. By and large, the average lifespan of a species is four million years. For mammals, it is a million years. Then the species vanishes. So the real pattern is one of species rising, flourishing, and dying out in a few million years. On average, one species a day has become extinct throughout the history of life on the Earth. But why? What leads to the rise and decline of earth's species in a four-million-year life cycle? One answer is that we do not recognize how continuously active our planet is. just in the last fifty thousand years - a geological blink of an eye - the rain forests have severely contracted, then expanded again. Rain forests aren't an ageless feature of the planet; they're actually rather new. As recently as ten thousand years ago, when there were human hunters on the American continent, an ice pack extended as far down as New York City. Many animals became extinct during that time. So most of Earth's history shows animals living and dying against a very active background. That probably explains ninety percent of extinctions. If the seas dry up, or become more salty, then of course ocean plankton will all die. But complex animals like dinosaurs are another matter, because complex animals have insulated themselves - literally and figuratively - against such changes. Why do complex animals die out? Why don't they adjust? Physically, they seem to have the capacity to survive. There appears to be no reason why they should die. And yet they do. What I wish to propose is that complex animals become extinct not because of a change in their physical adaptation to their environment, but because of their behavior. I would suggest that the latest thinking ill chaos theory, or nonlinear dynamics, provides tantalizing hints to how this happens. It suggests to us that behavior of complex animals can change very rapidly, and not always for the better. It suggests that behavior can cease to be responsive to the environment, and lead to decline and death. It suggests that animals may stop adapting. Is this what happened to the dinosaurs? Is this the true cause of their disappearance? We may never know. But it is no accident that human beings are so interested in dinosaur extinction. The decline of the dinosaurs allowed mammals - including us - to flourish. And that leads us to wonder whether the disappearance of the dinosaurs is going to be repeated, sooner or later, by us as well. Whether at the deepest level the fault lies not in blind fate-in some fiery meteor from the skies - but in our own behavior. At the moment, we have no answer."

And then he smiled.

"But I have a few suggestions," he said. "Of the self-organizing behaviors, two are of particular interest to the study of evolution. One is adaptation. We see it everywhere. Corporations adapt to the marketplace, brain cells adapt to signal traffic, the immune system adapts to infection, animals adapt to their food supply. We have come to think that the ability to adapt is characteristic of complex systems - and may be one reason why evolution seems to lead toward more complex organisms."

He shifted at the podium, transferring his weight onto his cane. "But even more important is the way complex systems seem to strike a balance between the need for order and the imperative to change. Complex systems tend to locate themselves at a place we call 'the edge of chaos.' We imagine the edge of chaos as a place where there is enough innovation to keep a living system vibrant, and enough stability to keep it from collapsing into anarchy. It is a zone of conflict and upheaval, where the old and the new are constantly at War. Finding the balance point must be a delicate matter - if a living system drifts too close, it risks falling over into incoherence and dissolution; but if the system moves too far away from the edge, it becomes rigid, frozen, totalitarian. Both conditions lead to extinction. Too much change is as destructive as too little. Only at the edge of chaos can complex systems flourish."

He paused. "And, by implication, extinction is the inevitable result of one or the other strategy - too much change, or too little."

In the audience, heads were nodding. This was familiar thinking to most of the researchers present.

"Unfortunately," Malcolm continued, "the gap between this theoretical construct and the fact of extinction is vast. We have no way to know if our thinking is correct. The fossil record can tell us that an animal became extinct at a certain time, but not why. Computer simulations are of limited value. Nor can we perform experiments on living organisms. Thus, we are obliged to admit that extinction - untestable, unsuited for experiment - may not be a scientific subject at all. And this may explain why the subject has been embroiled in the most intense religious and political controversy. I would remind you that there is no religious debate about the functions of the pancreas. But about extinction, there has been perpetual controversy for two hundred years. And I wonder how it is to be solved if - Yes? What is it?"

At the back of the room, a hand had gone up, waving impatiently. Malcolm frowned, visibly annoyed. The tradition at the Institute was that questions were held until the presentation ended; it was poor form to interrupt a speaker. "You had a question?" Malcolm asked.

From the back of the room, a young man in his early thirties stood. "An observation, actually."

The speaker was dark and thin, dressed in khaki shirt and shorts, precise in his movements and manner. Malcolm recognized him as a paleontologist from Berkeley named Levine, who was spending the Summer at the Institute. Malcolm had never spoken to him, but he knew his reputation: Levine was generally agreed to be the best paleontologist of his generation, perhaps the best in the world. But most people at the Institute disliked him, finding him pompous and arrogant.

"I agree," Levine continued, "that the fossil record is not helpful in addressing extinction. Particularly if your thesis is that behavior is the cause of extinction - because bones don't tell us much about behavior. But I disagree that your behavioral thesis is untestable. In point of fact, it implies an outcome. Although perhaps you haven't yet thought of it."

The room was silent. At the podium, Malcolm frowned. The eminent mathematician was not accustomed to being told he had not thought through his ideas. "What's your point?" he asked.

Levine appeared indifferent to the tension in the room. "Just this. During the Cretaceous, dinosauria were widely distributed across the planet. We have found their remains on every continent, and in every climatic zone - even in the Antarctic. Now, if their extinction was really the result of their behavior, and not the consequence of a catastrophe, or a disease, or a change in plant life, or any of the other broad-scale explanations that have been proposed, then it seems to me highly unlikely that they all changed their behavior at the same time, everywhere. And that in turn means that there may well be some remnants of these animals still alive on the earth. Why couldn't you look for them?"

"You could," Malcolm said coldly, "if that amused you. And if you had no more compelling use for your time."

"No, no," Levine said earnestly. "I'm quite serious. What if the dinosaurs did not become extinct? What if they still exist? Somewhere in an isolated spot on the planet."

"You're talking about a Lost World," Malcolm said, and heads in the room nodded knowingly.

"No," Levine said stubbornly. "I am speaking literally."

"Then you're badly deluded," Malcolm said, with a dismissive wave of his hand. He turned away from the audience, and walked slowly to the blackboard. "Now, if we consider the implications of the edge of chaos, we may begin by asking ourselves, what is the minimal unit of life? Most contemporary definitions of life would include the presence of DNA, but there are two examples which suggest to us that this definition is too narrow. If you consider viruses and so-called prions, it is clear that life may in fact exist without DNA…"

At the back of the room, Levine stared for a moment. Then, reluctantly he sat down, and began to make notes.

* * *

Teddy, the intern, knocked on Ludlow's door.

Ludlow's didn't look up from his desk. "What is it?" He was irritable. These last few weeks had been very difficult and painful, but now, it seemed, he finally had everything under control.

"We have a situation," Teddy informed him.

Ludlow's heart skipped a beat. A situation? What had gone wrong this time?! "I'm coming." He stood up and followed Teddy out of the room and down a hallway. They went into the office. The TV was on. Ludlow approached it to see what was on. It was a talk show. The camera was fixed on the host. The host said the name of the guest, and Ludlow froze. Then the camera panned to the left, revealing the guest. It was Gerry Harding.

* * *

'Veterinarian Claims InGen Cloned Dinosaurs.'

Grant read the article, sighing. What was Harding doing? InGen would surely discredit him, make him look out to be a liar.

But perhaps the truth should be known. Grant hated telling others that Ellie had died in an accident. He hated lying about what had happened to her.

But what else could he do? Putting the article aside and finishing his beer, Grant exited his trailer.

Now that he was back in Montana, he had a lot of work to do.

* * *

It was time. They were emerging.

A hand broke through the eggshell, clawing at the air. The baby Troodon forced its way into the outside world, announcing its arrival with a long hiss.

The siblings began to come out as well, hatching from their eggs.

"Welcome to the world, little fellas," Lewis Dodgson said to the batch, smiling.

* * *

Wu looked out of the helicopter. He hadn't talked much during the ride. The Isla Nublar Incident was still fresh in his mind.

While the other survivors tried to move on with their lives, Wu had to deal with the aftermath. Isla Nublar was now restricted to InGen while the Costa Rican and United States governments argued over the fate of the island. Most likely, it would be quarantined and contained. The lysine contingency should have taken effect, but Wu suspected that Sorkin must have something to do with that. The United States government wanted the creatures destroyed, but the Costa Ricans insisted that a napalm bombing was out of the question. So for now the island would lay undisturbed and it was probably best that way.

There were rumors that there were still some dinosaurs on the Costa Rican mainland, but nothing confirmed. There was also an investigation into Biosyn, but no prosecuting evidence came up.

A few weeks ago Wu had attended the funeral of John Hammond, though there was no body to bury. Hammond's grandchildren, the son of Hammond's friend Sanjay Masrani, and even Benjamin Lockwood, Hammond's old partner, paid their respects. Ludlow gave a eulogy.

"You know what was the first attraction John Hammond ever built when he came down south from Scotland?" the new CEO of InGen asked. "It was a Flea Circus. He had a trapeze, a carousel, and a seesaw. They were all motorized of course, but people would swear they could see the fleas. Clown fleas, high wire fleas, fleas on parade… But my uncle wanted to give them something real, something that wasn't an illusion, something they could see and touch. John Hammond had a dream. And like John himself, the dream was grand, it was outsized. It was bold. It was impractical. It was… not to be."

Ludlow promised to do his uncle's memory justice, to save the company and honor Hammond's dreams. Afterwards, Wu saw Ludlow talking to Lockwood, who gave Ludlow a cane topped with a mosquito trapped in amber that belonged to Hammond.

And now Ludlow had sent Wu to handle operations off the coast of Costa Rica. Although they were no longer allowed on Isla Nublar, there was another island that Wu could now see in the distance.

"There it is," he said to himself.

Site B.

**The End?**

* * *

**So... there's a lot to talk about. First of all: I'm so sorry for killing off for killing off Ellie Sattler! I realized while writing this with my friend that so far only the new characters had died and I wanted to kill off a recurring character to show that they weren't safe either. Ellie unfortunately hadn't done much else in the story, so she drew the short straw. I actually did a death scene similar to Ellie's before when I did another storytelling game that retold The Lost World, except it was Sarah who was shot by a stray bullet instead of Ellie. If you think Ellie was stuffed into a fridge, you might be right but that is the nature of these type of games. Ellie's death is one of the reasons why I consider this story to be so dark. If you think she deserved better, then I'm really sorry. poor Grant...**

**Sonya's death was also rather cruel, but like Nima I felt like Sonya was doomed because of her association with Biosyn. I had to kill off the Biosyn characters who helped out the heroes so that they couldn't tattle on Dodgson. As for Billy, I went back and forth on whether he would lose it or not like in the Telltale game. Ultimately my friend had Billy attempt to murder Wu, which unfortunately sealed his fate.**

**The Baryonyx on the mainland was a reference to "Jurassic World: Regenesis." It was an online interactive comic that took place between the first and second movie, opening up with a Baryonyx attacking swimmers off the coast of Costa Rica.**

**And when I was editing this, I read over the part where the compys curled up by the fire after escaping from the storm and I was like... aww.**

**I honestly do think the ending of this installment is better paced than the ending for The Isla Nublar Incident, which didn't address many of the characters as they were evacuated by helicopter. I tried making that up here by showing or mentioning every survivor in the "epilogue" on the mainland. The scenes with the Malcolms and the Hardings were fun to write, I really like developing the friendship between the two families.**

**Malcolm's speech at the end was taken right out of the second novel and it helps set the stage for The Lost World. I knew for a while that I wanted to end the story with Hammond's funeral (which was how one of the scripts for The Lost World ended, which also had Tim and Lex attending) and the first appearance of Site B. Ludlow's speech was a reference to the first and second films, based off the scene where Hammond told Ellie about his flea circus and the scene where Ludlow is on the docks of San Diego before the ship carrying the Rex crashes and the San Diego Incident begins. I had the Lockwood cameo planned for a while as well, his history with Hammond will be explored more in the next story. Masrani also made a cameo, foreshadowing the future like the mention of 'Indominus' near the end of The Isla Nublar Incident.**

**As for the ending with the baby Troodon... Biosyn won. I've said before that I consider the Troodon to be the 'main villains' of these stories, even upstaging the Velociraptors and the T-Rex, so like how The Isla Nublar Incident ended with them I thought it was appropriate that The Chaos Continues somehow ended with them as well.**

**And here's something funny... Sorkin actually saved lives by not exterminating the Troodon. Think about it. If the Troodon were killed off, then Nima and Chadwick would have been able to leave the island with the canister. Dodgson would have gotten his DNA and Nima wouldn't have been around to sacrifice herself while turning on the power. So things may have actually been much worse if it wasn't for Sorkin despite everything else she did. I know, ironic.**

**I do have bad news though. The next sequel, "An Act of God," is unfinished. It's 5/7 complete and the friend I was doing this unfortunately hasn't responded in months. But I'll still be publishing what is finished. "An Act of God" is a prequel to The Lost World. I've already been setting up The Lost World earlier since Ludlow, Sarah, and Kelly were all mentioned in The Isla Nublar Incident before appearing in The Chaos Continues along with Richard Levine and Howard King (characters from the book). Well, An Act of God will set up The Lost World even more. And thankfully, since Sorkin could only protect the Troodon on Nublar in secret there shouldn't be any on Isla Sorna... right?**

**Please leave a review and let me know your overall thoughts on The Chaos Continues! It's not perfect, but it still has its highlights and I'm glad that I wrote it. This series is some of the most fun I've ever had while writing, huge thanks to my friend who goes by TheRexMan22! I'm actually thinking of doing another Interactive Storytelling Game like the one that was edited into this. Message me if you are interested.**

**Casualties:**

**Daniel "D-Caf" Cafaro, killed by Tyrannosaurus**

**Diego, killed by Tylosaurus**

**George Bastelon, killed by Tylosaurus**

**Michael Wolfskin, killed by Dilophosaurus**

**Garza, killed by Dilophosaurus**

**Linares, killed by Troodon**

**Manuel, killed by Troodon**

**Edgar Prather, mercy killed by Alan Grant**

**Oscar Morales, killed by grenade**

**Vargas, killed by himself**

**Raul Lopez, killed by Troodon**

**George Lawala, killed by Biosyn mercenary**

**Darrel, killed by Velociraptor**

**Dr. Laura Sorkin, killed by Tylosaurus**

**Dr. Ellie Sattler, killed by Biosyn mercenary**

**Eduardo, killed by Baryonyx**

**Sonya Durant, killed by Dilophosaurus**

**William "Billy" Yoder, killed by rescue team**

**Survivors:**

**Alexis "Lex" Murphy**

**Atlanta Cruz**

**Dr. Alan Grant**

**Dr. Gerald "Gerry" Harding**

**Dr. Henry Wu**

**Dr. Ian Malcolm**

**Dr. Lewis Dodgson**

**Dr. Martin "Marty" Gutierrez/Ed James**

**Dr. Roberta "Bobbie" Carter**

**Dr. Sarah Harding**

**Elena Morales**

**Howard King**

**Jessica "Jess" Harding**

**John "Ray" Arnold**

**Kelly Malcolm**

**Timothy "Tim" Murphy**

**Trey Roland**

**Species Encountered:**

**Baryonyx walkeri**

**Cearadactylus atrox**

**Compsognathus triassicus**

**Dilophosaurus venenifer**

**Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis**

**Parasaurolophus walkeri**

**Triceratops horridus**

**Troodon pectinodon**

**Tylosaurus proriger**

**Tyrannosaurus rex**

**Velociraptor antirrhopus**

* * *

**Here's a teaser of what's to come...**

_Synopsis: Two months have passed since the Isla Nublar Incident. Site A has abandoned, but on Isla Sorna business continues as usual. The future of InGen and what will happen to their research is uncertain, but the staff assigned to the compound and worker village of Site B try to act like nothing has happened, proceeding with their studies that they are reluctant to give up. A decision has not yet been reached on what will happen to the facilities on Isla Sorna or the creatures that were created there. However, Henry Wu and many other InGen personnel are being sent to the second island by Peter Ludlow, who hopes that something of value could come from the activities there, making up for the disaster that was Jurassic Park and saving the company from the bankruptcy that threatens them. Officially, the laboratories on Site B will be abandoned because of Hurricane Clarissa, which resulted in the island's evacuation and the dinosaurs being left behind. Unofficially, there is more to the story..._

**Thank God for Site B.**


End file.
